Angels' Kenley Jansen reaches a milestone and rises up all-time ranking in one night

The Angels' third straight win and Kenley Jansen's historic night came in thrilling fashion and then some. The Angels allowed a runner to reach third base with no outs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning in their series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, but were still able to eke out a 4-3 victory. After Ben Joyce blew a 2-0 lead in the 7th inning (Garrett McDaniels held the score at 3-2 after replacing Joyce), then the Angels tied the game in the 8th, then took the lead in the top of the 9th, it was Kenley Jansen time.

The Angels' new closer allowed an infield single, a bunt single, and a stolen base to get himself into a jam with no outs. Jansen made mincemeat out of the next three Rays batters, and further cemented himself in MLB's record books.

Jansen is already the active leader in games played by a pitcher and saves, but his sights are more set on breaking records held by Hall of Famers. He is 35th all-time in games played by a pitcher, fifth all-time in strikeouts by a reliever (still-active Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman rank third and fourth all-time), and fourth all-time in saves. Now, Jansen is the fourth player ever with 450 saves. Us baseball fans love our round numbers, and 450+ saves is a great way to describe Jansen's career in a nutshell.

Jansen, a Curacao native, was a catcher when he entered professional baseball in 2005. He has always been a tall, intimidating figure on the baseball field, and he once used his prowess to block balls and rattle opposing pitchers from the batter's box. In 2009, Jansen caught 294.0 innings between A-Ball and Triple-A, but he also made his debut as a pitcher after Dodgers evaluators deemed he needed to transition over. He tossed 11.2 innings for Inland Empire in '09, then affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2010, Jansen improbably made his MLB debut on July 24th and wound up logging four saves. He logged five in 2011, and even finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

His whole career, Jansen has wanted to win and compete at the highest level and he maintains that fire to this day. “Just never give in,” Jansen said to Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register after logging save no. 450. “Just continue to pitch and slow the game down, and control the pace. And that’s what I did. It helped me get out of this one.” Jansen never gave in when he was moved from behind the plate to on the mound. He brings that grit and championship mentality to a franchise desperate for it.

Angels fans are lucky enough to be rooting for Jansen's individual success, as it has a direct correlation on their favorite team winning games. He is now 29 saves away from passing Lee Smith for third all-time on that leaderboard. Could he possibly reach that feat in 2025? Well, Kenley Jansen has proven that doubting him is a fruitless endeavor. Keep lighting that baby up, no. 74.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout