Craig Kimbrel gets to 400 career saves in front of friends, family in Atlanta (2024)

ATLANTA — Craig Kimbrel yanked a 97 mph fastball that missed down and away Friday night, and J.T. Realmuto asked for a timeout. The veteran catcher jogged to the mound to meet one of the most accomplished closers in the history of the sport. There may not ever be someone like Kimbrel again. The save, in modern baseball, is a novelty. Teams interchange ninth-inning relievers. They do not pay for saves anymore. Kimbrel is a symbol of the past.

There is nothing he hasn’t seen in this game and there was no prescient advice for Realmuto, who was drafted one month after Kimbrel debuted in the majors, to bestow. Realmuto dropped the ball in Kimbrel’s glove and patted him on the lower back. “Honestly,” Realmuto said, “I was just telling him to slow it down.” Kimbrel made a career of seizing the biggest moments.

He became the eighth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to collect 400 saves — a nice, round number that no one may ever reach again. Kimbrel, who became a phenomenon here in Atlanta with his cropped hair and trademark hanging right arm, made history with almost 30 family members and friends at Truist Park. It was fitting.

“Yeah, I reckon,” Kimbrel said after a 6-4 Phillies win over the Braves. “It’s pretty cool.”

The final out, on a grounder to third base hit by Ronald Acuña Jr., who represented the tying run, initiated a celebration from one corner of the ballpark. The Kimbrels are from Huntsville, Ala., about three hours from here. Michael, his father, has long hair and a long beard. He raised his hands and shouted.

It was more emotion than Craig showed.

“My dad stands out in the stands,” Kimbrel said. “He tries to blend in but it’s hard.”

A proud dad. pic.twitter.com/tMCk8cT1KE

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) May 27, 2023

Kyle Schwarber led a toast to Kimbrel in the clubhouse afterward. The Phillies had a video for Kimbrel. His teammates signed a fancy bottle of Champagne as a gift. They’re giving him a piece of artwork to commemorate the feat, too.

The Phillies never made Kimbrel any promises. When they signed him to a one-year, $10 million deal, they did not include incentive bonuses based on games finished. It was a not-so-subtle message to Kimbrel that they didn’t intend to use him as the set closer. Rob Thomson, the second-year manager of the Phillies, thrived last season while shuffling pitchers in and out of the ninth inning. A club-record 11 pitchers secured a save in 2022.

But Thomson spent years around the greatest to ever do it, Mariano Rivera, and he has an appreciation for relievers who have the wherewithal to pitch the ninth. So, Thomson is balanced in how he views the role: It’s not for everyone, but there must be some logic in how a manager treats the ninth inning.

Kimbrel has pitched his way into a larger role with the Phillies. He is throwing harder than he did a season ago. He is throwing more strikes. It’s a surprising development for a pitcher who turns 35 on Sunday and was so bad last year that the Dodgers excluded him from their postseason roster. He returned to Dodger Stadium earlier this month and had two nightmarish outings there.

And, ever since, Kimbrel has allowed one run in seven innings with 13 strikeouts and two walks. Thomson has gravitated toward deploying him in the ninth.

“When guys reach milestones like that,” Thomson said, “it’s just emotional for me because I know how hard they work and how long they’ve played and how difficult this game is. So it’s really cool for me.”

Kimbrel followed Kenley Jansen, who reached 400 saves earlier this month, also at Truist Park. The active pitcher who is next-closest is Aroldis Chapman at 317 saves. Edwin Díaz, who is out for the season, has 205 saves. Josh Hader, 29, has 145. Even if Hader averages 30 saves over the next eight seasons, he’d still be shy of 400.

This was not lost on those inside the Phillies clubhouse.

“It was a lot of fun,” Realmuto said. “It’s happened eight times in the history of baseball and it probably won’t — in my opinion — happen very many more times with how the game’s going. Teams don’t value (saves) the same as they used to. He could be one of the last of a dying breed, which is pretty cool.”

Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott, who wore No. 10 in high school and college because he loved Chipper Jones, appreciated the moment. He grew up watching Kimbrel on TV and played as Kimbrel in video games. “It’s kind of crazy to look out there and it’s actually him,” Stott said. Kimbrel has faced many of his current teammates, including Realmuto who is 0-for-6 against him with three strikeouts. As a Brave, Kimbrel was despised in Philadelphia. Fans mocked his signature pose on the mound.

Jesse Chavez, a current Braves righty, followed Kimbrel on the mound the day he debuted in the majors (May 7, 2010, against the Phillies). Kimbrel came from tiny Wallace State Community College in his hometown. He threw the ball hard — before 99 mph fastballs were as commonplace as they are now.

“​​When Craig came up he was a flamethrower who didn’t know where it was going,” Chavez said, “and now he’s got 400 saves, you’re looking at him like, ‘Man, it was there.’ Kudos to the scouting department on that one.”

It’s different now, and that’s fine. That is life. Kimbrel’s wife, Ashley, was here with their two children — Lydia and Joseph. Their daughter was born with a heart condition that required two separate surgeries, and that provided Kimbrel with a greater purpose than throwing fastballs in pressure-packed moments.

The Phillies probably wanted this to happen sooner, but they did not present Kimbrel with many save opportunities in the last week. Nevertheless, it felt right.

“I’m happy it was here in Atlanta,” Kimbrel said. “I’m happy I’m with my family. The majority of my family was here to see it. Getting to take it in and enjoy it with them is great.”

Once it was over, Kimbrel smiled. His new teammates have marveled at how stoic the pitcher is even when he’s not on the mound. His post-outing workout routines have become a fascination. Kimbrel is dedicated to his time on the treadmill after he pitches.

He did not skip the workout Friday night.

“We were talking about it after the game, just how calm he is,” Realmuto said. “You don’t get 400 saves in the big leagues without having that type of mentality. He doesn’t get too high, too low. He’s the same Craig every single day. You don’t know if he’s struggling or being the best pitcher on the planet that day. I feel like that demeanor is cool to see and it’s something that everybody in this clubhouse can learn from.”

This was Kimbrel’s 730th career appearance in the majors. It was the 605th time he pitched in the ninth inning. He always felt destined for this moment, but it wasn’t guaranteed when his stuff declined and teams changed how they use bullpens.

He’s not the pitcher he once was and maybe he’s a relic now. But the Phillies are intrigued by a slight uptick in his stuff. They were happy to celebrate some history with him.

Kimbrel, in the twilight of his career, has had a revelation. It’s what got him here, so he might as well lean into it.

“I’m better off just letting it eat and seeing what they can do with it,” Kimbrel said. “It’s been working out so far.”

(Top photo of Craig Kimbrel, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)

Matt Gelb is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Philadelphia Phillies. He has covered the team since 2010 while at The Philadelphia Inquirer, including a yearlong pause from baseball as a reporter on the city desk. He is a graduate of Syracuse University and Central Bucks High School West.