The memorable campaign of the Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman continues to collect fruits. If his deployment in 2025 earned him, at 37 years old, the Boston Red Sox extending his contract for one year, this Thursday he was enough to deserve the Marian Rivera award that distinguishes the best reliever in the American League.
The Holguin native, enrolled in his sixteenth season in the Major Leagues (MLB, for its acronym in English), seemed like a risky bet for the Massachusetts franchise, but its numbers showed the opposite.
Aroldis Chapman wins his 2nd career Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award! pic.twitter.com/plqYbrMZnE
—MLB (@MLB) November 14, 2025
Despite his age, his main weapon continued to be a speed beyond the ordinary, which throughout the entire calendar averaged above 98 miles/hour, review the official site mlb.com.
Champman raised the award in Las Vegas for the second time in his career – the first in 2019 with the New York Yankees -, supported by almost mind-blowing metrics.
According to the official statisticsthe left-hander saved 32 games and led all qualified relievers with a 1.17 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in 61.1 innings. In addition, opposing hitters averaged just .132 against his pitches, the lowest average among all candidates.
As additional information, it is worth mentioning that during the campaign he linked a chain of 50 consecutive retired batters, a milestone in his successful career.
Thanks to that deployment, “El Misil” was selected to participate in the All-Star Game for the eighth time, a sign that its consistency remains the test of time.
Although, logically, Chapman is getting closer to putting an end to his presence at the most demanding level of baseball in the world, the big question is when that moment will come.
For now, he is an undisputed reference among the Cuban players who have paraded through the Big Top, where he heads the list of those born on the island who have made the most money from their talent on that circuit.
In addition to his impressive speed records, the Cuban remains on the path to entering the select list of the best relievers in the history of the Major League.
At the end of last September he put saved game number 367 on his service record, which allowed him to equal what was accumulated by Jeff Reardon, until then the sole occupant of 12th place on the historical list of the most effective players on the circuit.
Chapman moved two steps away from the top ten closers in the MLB
Due to the fact that he is guaranteed one more season with the Red Sox, it would be a matter of time before a next rescue would allow him to climb one more step to accompany Jonathan Palebon, and Joe Nathan would be ahead of him, who closes the top ten with 377.
Without a doubt, and in the opinion of most specialists, the magnitude of his record would take him to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, a space that has been earned through talent, effort, intelligence and perseverance.
