On Sunday in Baltimore, Aroldis Chapman threw a 101 mph fastball, struck out Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and became the ninth pitcher in MLB history to reach 400 saves. He was 38 years old. It was his 33rd save of the 2026 season with the Boston Red Sox — and the moment made it all count.
The collapse nobody talks about, and the comeback that makes this bigger
Between 2022 and 2024, Chapman bounced through four organizations: the Yankees, Royals, Rangers, and Pirates. In those three years combined, he recorded just 29 saves. He lost the closer role, and at one point, Chapman himself wasn’t sure he’d ever get to this number.
Signing with Boston before the 2025 season rewrote the story. The Red Sox handed him the closer job from spring training, and Chapman delivered: two consecutive All-Star selections and 65 saves over that two-year stretch. Save No. 400 didn’t just happen — it was earned through a genuine rebuild.
On September 6, 2026, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Cuban left-hander closed out a four-game sweep of the Orioles with a 3-1 Red Sox win. The strikeout of Encarnacion-Strand sent him into the history books.
«It means a lot. It was one of my goals. God put me here and I was able to accomplish it.» — Aroldis Chapman, per Swing Completo (September 7, 2026)
The ninth member of a club that has only had nine since 1969
The save became an official MLB statistic in 1969. Since then, only eight men had crossed the 400-save barrier before Chapman. The full list:
- Mariano Rivera – 652
- Trevor Hoffman – 601
- Kenley Jansen – 493
- Lee Smith – 478
- Craig Kimbrel – 441
- Francisco Rodríguez – 437
- Billy Wagner – 422
- John Franco – 424
Four of those eight are already in Cooperstown. Chapman is the first Cuban-born pitcher to reach 400 saves in MLB history, and just the third left-handed reliever to do it, behind Wagner and Franco. He’s also the third active reliever in this club, alongside Kenley Jansen (493, Detroit Tigers) and Craig Kimbrel (441, Kansas City Royals).
And that’s not the only record he’s carrying this season. On July 3, 2026, Chapman surpassed Hoyt Wilhelm as MLB’s all-time strikeout leader among relievers when he recorded career punchout No. 1,364 against the Angels — a mark that had stood for more than 50 years.
What the numbers say in 2026
Chapman’s fastball doesn’t just look elite — Statcast backs it up. His 2026 numbers on the mound:
- 50 appearances, 48.2 innings pitched
- ERA: 2.03 · WHIP: 1.13
- 65 strikeouts vs. 20 walks (32.3% strikeout rate)
- 33 saves
- xERA: 2.68
- Average fastball: 97.5 mph with 2,443 rpm spin rate
- Whiff rate: 29.9%
- Opponents batting average: .197
- Exit velocity allowed: 88.8 mph
- Barrel rate allowed: 7%
How he stacks up across MLB in 2026:
- xERA: 95th percentile (elite)
- Strikeout rate (K%): 97th percentile (elite)
- Whiff %: 83rd percentile
- Fastball velocity: 91st percentile (elite)
- Fastball spin: 88th percentile
- xwOBA against: 95th percentile (elite)
His xwOBA against sitting at the 95th percentile means hitters are making some of the weakest contact against any pitcher in baseball. That’s not luck — that’s a 38-year-old throwing 97.5 mph with elite spin and elite results.
A franchise footnote worth noting
The Boston Red Sox now have more members of the 400-save club in their history than any other franchise — five in total: Chapman, Jansen, Kimbrel, Wagner, and Lee Smith. That says something about the pitcher, and about the organization that believed in him when no one else did.
No over-the-top celebration, no rehearsed speech. Just a man who knew exactly how long the road back had been — and what it cost to get there.
