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Ian Kennedy joins exclusive list of pitchers with 20-win, 20-save seasons

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Ian Kennedy entered the history books over the weekend by joining an exclusive club that features Hall of Famers John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley.

Against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, the Kansas City Royals pitcher notched his 20th save of 2019 in his inaugural campaign as a closer. In doing so, the veteran righty became the first pitcher since Smoltz and Derek Lowe (2002) to record both a 20-save season and a 20-win season during a career.

Kennedy notched 21 wins back in 2011 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. That year, he placed fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting after authoring a 2.88 ERA and a 3.22 FIP over 222 innings. This season, he's recorded a 3.32 ERA and a 2.19 FIP in 43 1/2 innings.

Overall, Kennedy became the eighth member of the 20-win, 20-save club, according to Devan Fink of FanGraphs, although some of those pitchers recorded the feat before the save became an official statistic in 1969.

After missing the entire 2000 campaign, Smoltz began pitching in relief and collected 55 saves in 2002. That came after he earned the NL Cy Young Award in 1996 with a 24-8 record as a starter.

Meanwhile, Lowe did the reverse. After being used in relief to start his career and collecting 42 saves in 2000 when he was named an All-Star, the Boston Red Sox legend posted a 21-8 record in 2002 to finish third in AL Cy Young voting behind Barry Zito and teammate Pedro Martinez.

Eckersley went 20-8 as a member of the Red Sox back in 1978 before joining the club with 45 saves for the Oakland Athletics in 1988.

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