In the midst of one of the best seasons of his 17-year career, Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman now has the record for most strikeouts by a reliever in baseball history.On Friday, Chapman struck out Los Angeles Angels third baseman Denzer Guzman to record his 1,364th career strikeout, surpassing Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm, who played 21 seasons for nine teams from 1952 to 1972.Chapman has recorded 17 saves with a 2.10 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 12 walks in 27 appearances (25 2/3 innings).Coming off a resurgent 2025 season, in which he cut his walk rate in half from 14.4 percent to 6.6 percent and posted a career-best 1.17 ERA over 67 appearances, the expectation was that the 38-year-old couldn’t possibly post a better season.
Aroldis Chapman records career strikeout No. 1,364!
He has set a new all-time record for strikeouts by a relief pitcher 👏 pic.twitter.com/tdzaYmdGKJ
— MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2026So far, he’s been on par and was even better, up until a recent stretch.Until a blown save on June 22, Chapman had posted an 0.83 ERA through his first 23 appearances. That blown save marked his first in nearly a year. Before that, his last blown save had come on July 26, 2025, marking a stretch in which he’d converted a career-high-tying 29 straight save opportunities, which had been the longest active saves streak in baseball.But Chapman has struggled a bit on the mound since that first blown save of the year, adding another a week later against the Yankees before the Red Sox won in a walk-off. In the midst of relinquishing the lead that night, Chapman tied Wilhelm’s record.“That’s great, that reflects on what I’ve done throughout my career,” Chapman said through an interpreter after tying the record. “On the other side, just want to be out there every time I can to help the team win and to save games.”With 384 career saves, he ranks 10th on the all-time saves list and could pass Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley (390) this season.Chapman’s consecutive saves streak was the third-longest in Red Sox history since saves became an official statistic in 1969. Only Tom Gordon, with 54 saves in a row from April 19, 1998, to May 31, 1999, and Koji Uehara, with 31 saves in a row from July 9, 2013, to June 16, 2014, have more.The Red Sox signed Chapman to a one-year, $10.75 million deal entering the 2025 season and gave him a one-year extension in August, signing him for $13.3 million with a 2027 vesting option. To reach that vesting option, he’ll need to pitch 40 innings. Chapman could have made significantly more as a free agent last winter, but said in August he liked his time in Boston and preferred the stability.Since his disastrous tenure with the New York Yankees from 2016 to 2022, which included a suspension for violating MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy, Chapman has worked to turn around his career. With revamped workouts in recent offseasons, he shed 30 pounds and honed his command. That extensive offseason work has led to two of the best seasons of his 17-year career in his late 30s.As the trade deadline approaches, though, contending teams will surely be calling the Red Sox about Chapman. Whether the Red Sox entertain trade offers for Chapman, who would surely garner a haul even with his recent ineffectiveness, will be one of the biggest questions heading into the deadline.Jul 4, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
