Craig Kimbrel the youngest ever to reach 150 saves
By Hayden Kane
Craig Kimbrel is only 25 years old. Given his long list of accomplishments as the closer for the Atlanta Braves, sometimes it feels like he has been around a lot longer than that.
The most recent accolade for Kimbrel happened this past weekend when he became the youngest player ever to reach 150 career saves.
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What might be even more impressive, as noted by Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, is that Kimbrel is only a handful of games away from holding the Braves franchise record for saves.
"Kimbrel said he didn’t get the ball. They’re all being onto by the Braves clubhouse staff to be authenticated. Kimbrel needs four more saves to tie John Smoltz’s Braves franchise record.“We’ve got bigger things to worry about, winning ballgames,” Kimbrel said. “I don’t really follow that too much or think about it.”"
Kimbrel’s reluctance to make a big deal out of the accomplishment is certainly something to be admired, but if his stats are any indication he is well on his way to a career full of accolades. To go along with those 150 saves Kimbrel has a career 1.44 ERA and a ridiculous career 15.2 K/9.
The Braves will be paying Kimbrel more than any closer by a long shot for the foreseeable future. If he keeps pitching like this, however, he might just be worth it.