Kenley Jansen is one of the best relief pitchers in the history of MLB.
He has a 2.46 career ERA and 391 saves, cementing his place as a Los Angeles Dodgers legend.
What you probably didn’t know is that Jansen started off his professional career as a catcher.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent catcher by the Dodgers in 2004.
He played a few seasons as a catcher in LA’s minor league system.
In 2009, the Curaçaoan represented the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.
There, he played a key role as the Netherlands upset the favored Dominican Republic team.
In a key moment of the game, Willy Taveras went off and tried to steal third base, but Jansen threw him out in the ninth inning.
In that tournament, he also threw Ryan Braun of the United States out trying to steal second.
.@kenleyjansen74 showed off his arm as a catcher in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/C5IgQ0ltVz
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) January 14, 2023
After the tournament, the Dodgers made a move that helped shape their 2010s contending teams: they convinced Jansen that he had no future as a catcher because he wasn’t a good hitter.
They recommended trying pitching, and boy, did it turn out fine.
Just one year after officially switching to pitching, in 2010, Jansen not only reached the big leagues, but did it with an impressive 27-inning cameo in which he posted a 0.67 ERA and struck out 41 batters.
Around those days, he became the closer of the Dodgers and didn’t stop until leaving via free agency in 2021.
He closed for the Atlanta Braves in 2022 and will now do so for the Boston Red Sox in 2023.
