‘Deep down I wasn’t happy’: How Kenley Jansen has rediscovered himself in Boston
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Joon Lee, ESPN
WINNING THE WORLD Series in 2020 was supposed to be one of the crowning achievements of Kenley Jansen‘s career. Instead, it marked a low point. Jansen struggled throughout the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ postseason run, eventually losing his job as their closer, and he received intense criticism from fans, writers and on social media.
When things were at their best, Jansen rode the highs of success, letting external validation define his self-worth. But as he struggled on the biggest stage of his career, he said, the places where he built his self-esteem now fed his deepest insecurities. Critics were calling for his job, saying he couldn’t get the Dodgers over the hump, that he hurt the team’s chances of winning a championship. Jansen spiraled, posting a 5.14 ERA in seven innings in October. It was starter Julio Urias, not Jansen, who finished the clinching Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Even though we won the World Series, deep down I wasn’t happy,” Jansen said. “I wasn’t happy because as much as my teammates picked me up, the responsibility I was supposed to carry, I didn’t take that responsibility. Someone had to do it for me.”
Two years later, Jansen weighed signing with Boston during the offseason. He questioned whether the move was the right one — not just for his family and career, but for his mental health. Jansen considered the intense scrutiny the Red Sox were under following a last-place finish in 2022. Going there almost seemed counterintuitive. And yet, Jansen is now in the best mental headspace of his career, having his best start to a season in years, with a 0.77 ERA and 1.17 FIP, fifth best among all relievers in baseball. His nine saves tie him for third. On Wednesday night, Jansen recorded his 400th career save, a total reached by only six other pitchers in baseball history. At 35 years old, he’s firmly back on a path some around the game believe will lead to Cooperstown.
The moment that turned Jansen around didn’t happen on the field; it wasn’t a gut-punching blown save or a confidence-shattering home run allowed.
Instead, it was a conversation with his therapist in 2021, who had worked with Jansen long enough to know what he needed: a reality check. She wanted to help Jansen rebuild the confidence he had lost — and used language more common for a baseball clubhouse than a doctor’s office to get through to the veteran.
“You’re being a b—-,” Jansen said his therapist told him. “This is a b—- mindset.”
They were harsh words, and a technique that certainly wouldn’t work for everyone, but the message resonated with Jansen: He was prioritizing others’ opinions of him over his own.
“I needed to own that it was all bulls—,” Jansen said. “I was being a b—-.”
WHEN GIANNA JANSEN met her husband, he lived and breathed baseball. Nothing made him happier. Whenever Kenley did anything related to the game, there was a smile on his face. But during the 2019 season, Gianni noticed a switch. Kenley struggled more than he ever had, racking up eight blown saves, the most of his career. And as he became more and more consumed by negativity, Gianni could feel Kenley’s sadness as he left for work.
“Baseball is everything, it’s the law,” Gianni said. “Kenley was supposed to be the last person out there. He needed to make every fan happy, the team happy. The happiness, he was trying to bring it to everybody to try to finish it, but he was starting to let his mind dominate his body.”
The pressure mounted over the next year, especially as Kenley struggled during the COVID-19 season and the Dodgers’ World Series run. The noise got so bad Gianni would log on to Kenley’s Instagram, deleting comments before he could see them. But those comments became so overwhelming they proved impossible to avoid.
“I was reading everything on the internet,” Kenley said. “You feed off of all of that good stuff, but you don’t realize you’re playing with a flame. And as soon as I had a bad one, I got burned. I couldn’t handle it.”
Before the 2021 season, Gianni insisted Kenley start seeing a therapist. As the child of two bodybuilders and a track and field athlete herself, Gianni knew the importance of mental maintenance in someone’s athletic performance. She told Kenley he wasn’t living up to his full potential because he wasn’t working on his mental focus. His natural cutter still remained among the most dominant pitches in baseball, but his mindset was falling apart on the mound.
So the couple began searching for someone who would understand Kenley’s journey from growing up in Curacao, an island with a population of 152,000, to playing for one of the most visible franchises in North American sports. He knew he needed to shift his source of self-confidence away from the internet and back to himself.
“I started to get disappointed with all of it that I didn’t want to do this anymore,” Kenley said. “But I really didn’t want to let the industry take the joy of baseball away from it.”
Through Jansen’s agents, Kenley matched with a clinical therapist who works with a lot of athletes. Their work started with a simple rule: No more reading social media comments. He started setting better boundaries. When he opened Twitter and saw his own face, he stopped clicking on the stories.
“If I want to see my own face, I’ll go in the mirror and see my face,” he said.
He began focusing on how much he loved the game.
“You carry your love for the game and nothing else matters,” he said. “And when you realize it’s OK that you’re not OK and then you go search for what you love and do best, I started having the time of my life.”
THESE DAYS, THE Jansens live across the country from each other. Gianni takes care of the kids in Los Angeles, where they go to school, while Kenley lives in Boston. They start every morning with the same routine, swapping good morning texts, followed by a motivational video. Some days it’s the words of the late Kobe Bryant, other days it’s from Shaquille O’Neal, or even Denzel Washington.
“It depends on the day,” Gianni said. “Depends on the mood.”
Jansen joined the Red Sox as Boston sought to rebuild a bullpen that had featured the fifth-worst reliever ERA in 2022. But even as the team prioritized signing relievers, adding righty Chris Martin and lefty Joely Rodriguez, Boston originally did not plan on pursuing Jansen — nor did Jansen see the Red Sox, whose fan base’s fervor rivals the Dodgers’, as the right fit initially.
But after notching a National League-best 41 saves with the Atlanta Braves last season and rebuilding his confidence, Jansen began to see the intensity of the market as a plus. And when the Red Sox checked in and found that Jansen’s price aligned with their evaluation, Boston jumped, agreeing on a two-year, $32 million deal.
Jansen and Red Sox manager Alex Cora have talked about what it means to play in Boston, and for the skipper, having a closer he knows he can depend on to get three of a game’s biggest outs is something he doesn’t take for granted.
“You have the lead in the ninth and it’s over,” Cora said. “All you can do as a manager is give the vote to the big guy and finish it. From my end, in ’19 we had Craig [Kimbrel], [Matt Barnes] did his thing when he was doing well in ’21, and it’s a lot easier to manage a game with an established closer.”
As Jansen reworked his mental approach, he revamped his workout routine. He began working with basketball trainer Melissa Livingston, who had more experience with bodies like Jansen’s 6-foot-5, 265-pound frame, and focused his offseason on reshaping his body and taking his kids to the park.
“We live in Los Angeles, but we have no idea where the party places are,” Gianni said. “For Kenley, it was working out and family this offseason.”
And while he’s reinvented his mental approach, Jansen has returned to his old approach on the mound, throwing cutters 79.3% of the time, his highest mark since 2018, while decreasing his dependence on his slider, down from 22.5% to 9.1%, his lowest mark since 2017. Jansen said his mental approach on the mound has helped him stop overthinking, allowing him to throw each pitch with more conviction. That’s reflected in his average velocity of 95.3 mph, the hardest of his career and the first time since 2016 he’s topped 94 mph.
“I encourage everybody to go to therapy,” Jansen said. “You’re going to be at your best level.”
With his work in therapy, what ultimately sealed the deal for Jansen to sign with Boston was the very thing that nearly led to his demise in Los Angeles: the intense spotlight on the team, from fans to writers to talk radio.
“I loved playing in Atlanta, but there wasn’t as much scrutiny there as in Boston,” Jansen said. “With fewer media around, you could slump in your chair.”
These days when he walks through the clubhouse, Jansen looks at the large media contingent standing around in the Red Sox clubhouse. With more eyes in the room, he reminds himself to walk with better posture, and that he wouldn’t want it any other way.
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Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com
The midway point of the 2024-25 NHL occurred recently, which led to a slew of content this week: Midseason grades for all 32 teams, the Panic Meter, and the Wyshynski Awards at midseason.
But which fantasy players have been the MVP at this juncture?
In this week’s edition of the Power Rankings, we have identified that player for each club. And a reminder, it’s not too late to sign up for a team!
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday, which generates our master list.
Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, published Jan. 10. Points percentages and paces are through Thursday’s games.
Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 72.22%
Tom Wilson, RW. It’s honestly hard to pick one Capital for this fantasy MVP award, as it’s been such a great season. Logan Thompson, Connor McMichael, Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun … even an injury-shortened run from Alex Ovechkin has been epic so far. But Wilson is the team’s fantasy leader as of Wednesday, with one more fantasy point than Thompson, so let’s acknowledge the effort.
Next eight days: vs. PIT (Jan. 18), @ EDM (Jan. 21), @ SEA (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 70.65%
Connor Hellebuyck, G. He’s not just the Jets’ fantasy MVP, he’s easily the NHL fantasy MVP this season! Hellebuyck has a 35-point lead on Nathan MacKinnon for the most overall fantasy points and is pushing into territory we haven’t seen in the modern NHL. Carey Price has the 15-year water mark at 313.6 fantasy points in 2014-15 and Hellebuyck is on pace to beat it.
Next eight days: vs. CGY (Jan. 18), @ UTA (Jan. 20), @ COL (Jan. 22)
Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 69.32%
Jack Eichel, C. Health has been a big reason why, but it’s still a shock to think that Eichel hasn’t scored more than 82 points in a season. Well, he’s going to blow the doors off that career mark this campaign as he’s well on his way to triple digits!
Next eight days: @ CAR (Jan. 17), @ CHI (Jan. 18), vs. STL (Jan. 20), @ STL (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 67.78%
Leon Draisaitl, C. Chicken or egg, we may never know, but Draisaitl is the easy pick from the Oilers even though he’s on a team with the consensus best player on the planet. His fantasy returns are through the roof and he’s dominating in the offensive categories at a per-game rate only eclipsed by two other players. No one is sad even if he was picked first overall at the draft — which he probably wasn’t.
Next eight days: @ VAN (Jan. 18), vs. WSH (Jan. 21), vs. VAN (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 64.77%
Jake Oettinger, G. It hasn’t been a straight line to get there, but here at the halfway mark, Oettinger is the top-five goaltender we drafted. That’s worthy of fantasy MVP on a team with most of the other personnel putting up totals that lag behind last season.
Next eight days: @ COL (Jan. 18), vs. DET (Jan. 19), vs. CAR (Jan. 21)
Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 64.44%
Kirill Kaprizov, LW. He’s missed 10 games and still has the lead in fantasy points for the Wild, though Filip Gustavsson might catch him). Actually, if Kaprizov wasn’t so extremely dialed in, Gustavsson may have been worthy of the nod here for answering the bell as the unquestioned starter after a down season in 2023-24.
Next eight days: @ NSH (Jan. 18), @ COL (Jan. 20), vs. UTA (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 61.70%
Jacob Markstrom, G. Forget fantasy MVP, maybe just plain MVP. The Devils knew they needed a reliable goalie to change their fortunes in the standings, and Markstrom has more than filled that void. It’s a bonus for us in the fantasy game that the results have translated well and he’s (distant, admittedly) second to Connor Hellebuyck among all goalies.
Next eight days: vs. PHI (Jan. 18), vs. OTT (Jan. 19), vs. BOS (Jan. 22)
Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 63.04%
Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll, G. Maybe the fantasy MVP should be coach Craig Berube, who brought his defensive stylings to a team that seemed to have had an appetite for it all along. Both Stolarz and Woll have proven to be worthy of fantasy rosters — especially in leagues that allow daily lineup changes to pick the actual starter. They rank fourth and 13th respectively for fantasy points per game.
Next eight days: @ MTL (Jan. 18), vs. TB (Jan. 20), vs. CBJ (Jan. 22)
Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 61.11%
Shayne Gostisbehere, D. Averaging half a point per game with the man advantage, Gostisbehere is just what the Hurricanes needed to elevate their special teams this season. He’s not just a great fantasy starter, but he’s lifted all boats for the Hurricanes by making the power play more dangerous. That’s true fantasy MVP status.
Next eight days: vs. VGK (Jan. 17), @ CHI (Jan. 20), @ DAL (Jan. 21), vs. CBJ (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 65.48%
Brandt Clarke, D. Though the sun is setting on his time in the spotlight and one could argue it’s been fading since his early season returns, Clarke did a stand-up job of filling in for Drew Doughty as the Kings power-play quarterback until the veteran returns, which for the record, is expected to be soon.
Next eight days: @ SEA (Jan. 18), vs. PIT (Jan. 20), vs. FLA (Jan. 22)
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 59.78%
Nathan MacKinnon, C. One of only two skaters averaging 3.0 fantasy points per game, MacKinnon is a fantasy MVP even relative to his starting value, which couldn’t possibly have been any higher for the top player drafted in most leagues. There are no complaints if you want to give this to Mikko Rantanen or Cale Makar, who are right there with him.
Next eight days: vs. DAL (Jan. 18), vs. MIN (Jan. 20), vs. WPG (Jan. 22)
Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 59.78%
Sam Reinhart, RW. Leon Draisaitl, Alex Ovechkin, Dany Heatley … Reinhart? If he keeps up his current pace, he’ll join an exclusive group of players with consecutive 50-goal seasons in the post-lockout era. How’s that for an answer as to whether he can repeat his fantasy value from his contract season?
Next eight days: vs. ANA (Jan. 18), @ ANA (Jan. 21), @ LA (Jan. 22)
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 59.30%
Nikita Kucherov, RW. Life without Steven Stamkos has been just fine for Kucherov, as Jake Guentzel has filled the void on the power play. He joins only Nathan MacKinnon in the rarified air of earning 3.0 fantasy points per game as a skater. Brandon Hagel emerging as a fantasy lock would be another consideration here, but Kucherov is too good to pass on.
Next eight days: vs. DET (Jan. 18), @ TOR (Jan. 20), @ MTL (Jan. 21)
Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 55.68%
Jonathan Huberdeau, LW. Cast aside after the terrible fantasy showing last season, Huberdeau was widely available for fantasy teams when it became clear he was having a bounce-back campaign. Rookie Dustin Wolf was an equally eligible choice here as he continues his takeover of the crease.
Next eight days: @ WPG (Jan. 18), vs. BUF (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 54.55%
Kevin Lankinen, G. Although the fantasy value is starting to fade as Thatcher Demko creeps back into the picture, Lankinen was a boon to rosters for months as his replacement. And it was a very late replacement, as he wasn’t even on the Canucks roster until after some fantasy drafts. But with Demko still not seemingly 100 percent, maybe the ride isn’t over.
Next eight days: vs. EDM (Jan. 18), vs. BUF (Jan. 21), @ EDM (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 55.56%
Zach Werenski, D. Mike Green’s 31 goals in 2008-09 still stands as the 21st century mark to beat for a defender. Werenski picked up two on Tuesday to put him on pace for 28. The results are only made better by the fact that he was a typically an 11th round draft pick in most leagues.
Next eight days: @ NYR (Jan. 18), @ NYI (Jan. 20), @ TOR (Jan. 22), @ CAR (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 54.55%
Brady Tkachuk, LW. Five-category forwards are a rare commodity, but Tkachuk checks all the boxes for fantasy production. But he’s not just checking them, he’s filling the boxes in with a permanent Sharpie and signing them. He’s top 10 in both shots on goal and hits!
Next eight days: vs. BOS (Jan. 18), @ NJ (Jan. 19), @ NYR (Jan. 21), @ BOS (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 53.26%
David Pastrnak, RW. Like … who else are we going to pick? Jeremy Swayman and Elias Lindholm are falling way short of high hopes, Charlie McAvoy — just placed on the IR — and Brad Marchand are treading water for value. Pasta hasn’t been as dominant as his recent seasons, but you probably aren’t mad you picked him for your team, which is going to have to be good enough for fantasy MVP here.
Next eight days: @ OTT (Jan. 18), vs. SJ (Jan. 20), @ NJ (Jan. 22), vs. OTT (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 54.55%
Lane Hutson, D. It took him a little bit of time, but Hutson climbed the depth chart to the top of the blue line and is reaping the rewards. He has been a top-10 fantasy defenseman for the past month with 2.3 fantasy points per game and leads all Habs in fantasy points over that span.
Next eight days: vs. TOR (Jan. 18), vs. NYR (Jan. 19), vs. TB (Jan. 21), @ DET (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 52.27%
Moritz Seider, D. With the way the offense has turned around after the coaching change, this answer might be different in a couple of weeks (Patrick Kane?), but for now, Seider returning the top-five defenseman value we hoped for is fantasy MVP-worthy.
Next eight days: @ TB (Jan. 18), @ DAL (Jan. 19), @ PHI (Jan. 21), vs. MTL (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 52.17%
Dylan Holloway, C. After getting modest chances in Edmonton with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it was far from expected that Holloway would start producing once he escaped them. Holloway ranks third on the Blues in total fantasy points and has only been improving his output as the season progresses — as in, this might not even be the ceiling yet.
Next eight days: @ UTA (Jan. 18), @ VGK (Jan. 20), vs. VGK (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 51.14%
Will Cuylle, LW. Frankly, Cuylle shouldn’t be on fantasy rosters anymore since his early-season hot streak inevitably petered out, but giving him the fantasy MVP nod here is a message to the rest of the Rangers. No one has met, let alone exceeded fantasy hopes on this roster this season. Vincent Trocheck is just starting to get to a good place, but it’s thumbs down all around after him.
Next eight days: vs. CBJ (Jan. 18), @ MTL (Jan. 19), vs. OTT (Jan. 21), vs. PHI (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 50.00%
Travis Sanheim, D. While Travis Konecny is the team leader for fantasy, he was also a popular pick at drafts. Sanheim was a bench addition defenseman in most leagues — if he was even drafted at all. Well, here he is, sandwiched between Quinn Hughes and Roman Josi for total fantasy points from the blue line at the halfway mark.
Next eight days: @ NJ (Jan. 18), vs. DET (Jan. 21), @ NYR (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 48.86%
Ian Cole, D. Cole is easily having the quietest fantasy campaign in the league. He ranks 19th in fantasy points among all defensemen, yet remains available in 60% of leagues. The fuel for his performance are his 124 blocked shots, which rank second overall to Jacob Trouba. Cole even has more fantasy points than any forward on Utah’s roster.
Next eight days: vs. STL (Jan. 18), vs. WPG (Jan. 20), @ MIN (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 47.83%
Rickard Rakell, RW. He was on radars at the start of the season, but he may not have even been in many top-five lists for Penguins with the most fantasy potential. So to have Rakell not only doing well, but leading the entire team in fantasy points — by a healthy margin — is fantastic news for those that picked him up in the early going. Heck, Rakell is 11th among all skaters in fantasy scoring!
Next eight days: @ BUF (Jan. 17), @ WSH (Jan. 18), @ LA (Jan. 20), @ ANA (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 46.59%
Anders Lee, LW. With only Lee and Noah Dobson approaching 2.0 fantasy points per game — and barely — across the Islanders’ entire roster, we don’t really have a choice but to go with Lee for the fantasy MVP, as we expected more from Dobson. But long story short, if Ilya Sorokin isn’t the fantasy MVP in an Isles season, we know things aren’t going to plan.
Next eight days: vs. SJ (Jan. 18), vs. CBJ (Jan. 20)
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 44.57%
Joey Daccord, G. Look, the Kraken are an example of playing above the sum of its parts, but it means there are no superstars here. No player averages more than 1.7 fantasy points per game, which means some shallow leagues might be better off with no Kraken on any rosters. That said, Daccord has been an above average secondary fantasy goaltender when deployed with focus.
Next eight days: vs. LA (Jan. 18), vs. BUF (Jan. 20), vs. WSH (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 46.67%
Jackson LaCombe, D. Before the season, if you had to guess the young defender that would the Ducks’ fantasy MVP at the halfway mark, LaCombe might have been your third guess. He’s playing top-pair minutes with Radko Gudas and patrolling the blue line on the power play to the tune of 1.9 fantasy points per game.
Next eight days: @ FLA (Jan. 18), vs. FLA (Jan. 21), vs. PIT (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 44.32%
Jason Zucker, LW. A prime choice in deep-league fantasy games, Zucker has a lot going for him amongst a disappointing showing from his teammates in fantasy. A freebie pickup with 1.7 fantasy points per game? Nice. Gets most of his points on the power play? Excellent. Eligible at both LW and RW for leagues that use those? Beauty!
Next eight days: vs. PIT (Jan. 17), @ SEA (Jan. 20), @ VAN (Jan. 21), @ CGY (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 42.05%
Roman Josi, D. Even though he ranks ninth among blueliners for fantasy points and is behind his pace from last season, Josi is as close to a fantasy MVP as we’ll get with this club. Maybe better days are ahead, but the Predators are a lesson in not betting too strongly on fantasy returns based on offseason moves.
Next eight days: vs. MIN (Jan. 18), vs. SJ (Jan. 21), @ SJ (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 36.17%
Jake Walman, D. An extraordinarily pleasant surprise on the Sharks’ blue line, Walman is running the power play, firing shots, scoring goals and blocking shots. He wasn’t on any preseason shortlists as a sleeper, so to be getting quality production out of him as a free-agent addition has been helpful to those who jumped on board.
Next eight days: @ NYI (Jan. 18), @ BOS (Jan. 20), @ NSH (Jan. 21), vs. NSH (Jan. 23)
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 34.44%
Alex Vlasic, D. The results are dipping of late, but Vlasic was a solid play overall this season, especially when Seth Jones was out of the lineup. Vlasic ranks second on the team in fantasy points and was even tied with Connor Bedard for the lead as recently as Dec. 27.
Next eight days: vs. VGK (Jan. 18), vs. CAR (Jan. 20)
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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
LSU freshman quarterback Colin Hurley was found unresponsive but breathing by LSU police and the Baton Rouge Fire Department just before 3 a.m. on Thursday following a car crash near the gates of the LSU campus, according to a crash report.
Hurley was taken out of his Dodge Charger by EMS and fire department personnel and transported to a Baton Rouge area hospital.
The cause of the crash has not been released. LSU school officials said they were unable to comment because Hurley, 17, is still a minor. Hurley’s parents were on their way to Baton Rouge.
“We are working through proper protocols with his family before we can have any comment,” LSU senior associate athletic director and chief communications officer Zach Greenwell told ESPN via text message.
Hurley, who is from Jacksonville, Florida, signed with LSU as part of the 2024 recruiting class and did not play this season as a true freshman.
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