(Image via AllOnGeorgia)
Staff Writer: Brian Galindo
Email: bgalindo@umassd.edu
Braves Pitcher Chris Sale wins the NL Cy Young Award after an incredible season. Having just been traded from the Red Sox last year, many Boston fans are proud to see Sale do well yet are disappointed once again in the team’s roster management.
But rather than be disappointed in the Sox, let’s take a good look at Chris Sale and all the hard work he’s done to get here.
Chris Sale has always been a remarkably good pitcher. Starting on the Chicago White Sox, he played his first two seasons as a relief pitcher, coming in late when starting pitchers got tired.
In 2012, his third season, he made the transition to starting pitcher, a decision the White Sox would soon wish they’d done sooner. He set a team record for most strikeouts in a game, with sixteen, and ended the season with an impressive 3.05 ERA.
ERA, shorthand for earned-run average, is a statistic determining how many runs, on average, the pitcher would let go if they were pitching a full nine-inning game. Generally speaking, having an ERA around three is quite good; below three is amazing, and below two is exceptional.
In 2012, Sale also made his first All-Star Game appearance; he would proceed to be on the All-Star Game roster for the next six consecutive years.
In 2017, Sale was traded to the Red Sox, where he was quickly a fan favorite. His first season with the Red Sox saw him place second in voting for the Cy Young Award, just barely getting edged out by Corey Kluber.
The next year, 2018, saw Sale continue to be beloved by Red Sox fans, even pitching the final inning of the World Series, which the Red Sox won that year.
In 2019, Sale’s issues began. He had an incredibly poor start to the season, and though he had started to turn it around, an elbow injury ended his season early.
Despite the poor season, he did make a major milestone in 2019: 2,000 career strikeouts, a feat which he had completed in the shortest amount of time by a pitcher in baseball history, at just 1,626 innings – meaning he had more than one strikeout per inning, on average.
Injuries would plague Sale’s next few seasons. Tommy John surgery cut off his 2020 season (which still took place, though shortened and without fans attending), and the recovery would seep into his 2021 season as well.
In 2022, he fractured a rib throwing batting practice. Then, he broke his finger from a line drive hit right at him. Then, in the most wild injury yet, he broke his wrist while riding his bike.
In 2023, he did pitch a bit, but after another injury, it was clear the team was getting tired of it. So, in 2024, the Red Sox traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves.
2024 started Sale off on a new team, uninjured, with a fresh slate. With this fresh slate, he let loose and had the best season of his life.
With an ERA of 2.35, 225 strikeouts, and 18 wins, Sale led the National League in all three statistics, earning the rare pitching Triple Crown.
Naturally, with such an impressive showing, Chris Sale finally earned the Cy Young Award, which was given to the best pitcher in each league. He also earned a Golden Glove for impressive defensive play on the field.
So, as one can plainly see, Chris Sale is an incredibly impressive pitcher with a historic set of accomplishments and greatly deserving of the 2024 National League Cy Young Award.