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Aroldis Chapman became the second reliever with the most strikeouts in Major League history this Sunday, reaching 1,341 career strikeouts and surpassing the mark set by the legend Rich "Goose" Gossage (1,340), during a flawless performance that also earned him his fifth save of the 2026 season.
According to the specialized site Pelota Cubana, the Holguin native secured the 5-3 victory for the Boston Red Sox against the Baltimore Orioles by pitching the ninth inning without complications: only seven pitches, all strikes, and he struck out the last two batters of the game.
With this performance, Chapman ranked second on the all-time strikeouts list among relievers, just behind Hoyt Wilhelm, who has a total of 1,363.
The save was also the 372 of his Major League career, a figure that keeps him on a sustained path toward the exclusive club of 400 saves, to which only nine players have ever reached in the history of MLB.
Chapman reaches this milestone backed by a 2025 season that was one of the most dominant of his career: he recorded 32 saves and an ERA of 1.15, the best among all relief pitchers in the league, with an opponent batting average of .130.
That performance earned him the Mariano Rivera Award for the Best Reliever in the American League and solidified his status as one of the most dominant closers in the history of baseball.
In the 2025 season, the Cuban also recorded a historic inning with four strikeouts and established a streak of 16 consecutive hitless outings, the third longest since 1901 for the Red Sox.
At 38 years old, Chapman signed a contract extension with Boston for 13.3 million dollars with a mutual option for 2027, confirming that the pitcher born in Holguín remains a key player for the team.
So far in 2026, Chapman has not allowed any runs in his first outings and is maintaining a pace reminiscent of his best seasons. Already on Opening Day, he surpassed Jonathan Papelbon on the all-time saves list.
Known as "The Cuban Missile," Chapman also holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest pitch in baseball — 105.8 miles per hour, recorded on September 24, 2010 — and has been selected to the All-Star Game, the highest for a left-handed reliever in MLB history eight times.
With 372 saves, Chapman needs just six more to surpass Joe Nathan (377) and enter the all-time top 10 in that category, with his sights set on 400, which would solidify his place among the nine greatest closers of all time.
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