There is so much going on in the sport of baseball every day, but some stories are not as memorable as others. As any casual fan would say, “not every game counts since it’s 162 games.” In hindsight, they aren’t wrong, but they aren’t also correct. Baseball is an uphill battle to be the team waiving the flag at the end of the day, and for 29 teams, that simply is a fantasy that lives in their dreams.

Baseball has its ebbs and flows, but you can’t predict that with a bad week your team is in that they will make up the difference in a matter of months. Sometimes the games lost in April to a lower-tier team will bite you back after losing out on playoff contention by one or two games. It is not a fair game, and a game where being on your A-game every day is vital for long-term success.

Through the bittersweet stories, there are stories that make you smile. The game is always going to be rough and isn’t supposed to be easy. But sometimes the headline stories are ones that make you look back on how the sport can really be beautiful and that anything is possible. Let’s dive into each.

History for Kenley Jansen: Third Most Saves in MLB History

A historic honor for one of the most successful veteran closers in the game. Kenley Jansen, at age 39, reaches 479 saves and passes Lee Smith for the third most all-time saves by a closer. What a wonderful feature for Kenley, who originally started his career in the Dodgers’ farm system as an unranked catcher and now will end his 17th season with 500+ saves.

Kenley Jansen was warming up in the eighth inning with the Tigers down a run, and to be ready in case of a comeback. Once catcher Dillion Dingler doubled home McGonigle, it was up to Jansen to finish the job with the Tigers’ first lead of the night. And that is exactly what he did. The Detroit Tigers faced the Kansas City Royals in a 2-1 game.

With a 3-2 count against Starling Marte, Kenley Jansen threw his signature cutter and within a split second, Marte popped out to right field, and Jansen secured the save. Stories like this are what makes baseball so magnificent. To see that even after Kenley wasn’t re-signed by the Dodgers after the 2021 season, he didn’t stop being himself and continued to persevere even through tough battles. Now after seventeen glorious seasons in Major League Baseball he sits behind two legendary Hall of Famers in Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.

For Kenley’s career he has closed 479 games while having a career earned run average of 2.57 and an ERA+ of 155. He is one of the most underrated closers in the game who hasn’t lost his flame that kept him in the league for so long as one of the most consistent closers in the game.

Between twelve years with the Dodgers, two with the Red Sox, one with Atlanta, one with Anaheim, and now with Detroit, Kenley has proved one thing to be true: with consistent work ethic, you can see consistent results. In his career, he has had a season earned run average under 3.00 eleven out of seventeen times. That is Hall of Fame worthy and a career that will be remembered for years.

Breakout Season in Jordan Walker

What a season for Jordan Walker to start 2026. After debuting for the Cardinals in 2023, this has been Jordan’s first season having a positive WAR. It has been an uphill battle for the 23-year-old right fielder who has struggled in recent years. In his debut season in 2023, Walker was worth -0.1 wins above replacement (meaning the replacement right fielder was technically a better-rounded player when Walker was not in the game); however, he had 116 hits alongside 16 home runs, 51 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases for a batting average of .276/.342/.445/.787 for an OPS+ of 113. Since then, an OPS of .595 has delayed his promising start to a young career.

Keep in mind, Walker debuted when he was 21 years old, and he is still just 23 years, so for him to break out right now is perfect timing for long-term success. Aaron Judge didn’t even reach the majors until 24 years old and didn’t break out until 25 years old; that’s at least two years away for Jordan, so to say he is perfectly fine right now is an understatement.

However, right now is an anomaly for Walker, and people hope it sticks. It looks like it will. While some numbers like OPS+ and batting average will eventually drop as we get deeper into the season, stats like OBP and home runs seem to be at a healthy pace to be better than 2023.

Right now, in 17 games, Jordan Walker has the most Wins Above Replacement for the National League with 1.5 WAR, and in 70 plate appearances, he has 21 hits, 8 home runs, 15 RBIs, a batting average of .328 with a slash line of .386/.734/1.120 for an OPS+ of 216. His slugging percentage of .734 is the highest in baseball at this recorded moment, even higher than Aaron Judge.

In the first eleven games for the Cardinals, he has hit 7 home runs while having 2 back-to-back-to-back games with a homer. It is exciting to see what the young player can do, and I hope he can keep it up.

Kevin McGongile Extension

The tigers agreed to an extension with their young shortstop Kevin McGongile on an 8 year $150 million dollar deal with contract extensions. The contract will begin next year and will end in 2034 and cover his final five years of club control. It is good for the young shortstop to get the contract he deserves so early in his career before the eventual lockout happens in baseball when the collective bargaining agreement in baseball ends. All of baseball is locking up their young stars early and Kevin McGongile is one of them.

The contract has escalators in the last three years of his contract that could increase the deal to $160 million and it also includes a $14 million signing bonus. The salary increases over time with $1 million in 2027, $7 million in 2028, and $16 million in 2029, $21 million in 2030, and $22 million in 2031 and 2032-2034, and if he gets traded he gets dealt $5 million, but I doubt the tigers have trading their young star they just locked up on their mind for the foreseeable future especially with the sight of 2027 baseball might not start on time.

In 17 games for the tigers, Kevin McGongile has 12 runs, 19 hits, 1 home run, 8 RBI, eleven walks and a batting average of .311 with a slash line of .417/.492/.908 for an OPS+ of 162. He is already proving, early on in the season, he belongs in the majors, thus the extension so far.

It is incredible at just 21 years old he has proven the consistency to belong in the major leagues and has yet to face a slump, albeit it has not even been 20 games; regardless, he has proven to be a mainstay for the tigers team for the future.

Altogether these three stories are some of the best stories in recent times of baseball. It makes you happy and shows that with dedication at any point of your career, whether it is at the beginning of your early career, proving you belong in the majors, or breaking out after four bad years in the majors and a change of confidence, or if it is a veteran breaking an all-time record for being the closer with the third most saves.

What you can take from this is that things like this and Major League Baseball altogether take time for success to build and for a story to be created. These three guys have shown that.