Chris Sale Made Most of First Two Seasons with Braves

Chris Sale has only been with the Atlanta Braves for a relatively short time. However, he’s already leaving his mark on the team in the record books. 

In year one, he became the fifth pitcher in franchise history to win the Cy Young Award, the first of his career. This season was arguably good enough for a chance to repeat, but injuries have likely taken him out of the race. 

However, he’s found other ways to stand out. From an accolades perspective, he’s been named a finalist for the All-MLB Team. He was named to the First Team last season. 

From where he stands with the Braves, he’s actually in some exclusive company. So far, he’s clocked in a 2.46 ERA across 303 1/3 innings pitched. 

He's joined Greg Maddux, Mike Remlinger, Kris Medlen and Greg McMichael as the only Atlanta pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched and a sub-3.00 ERA, according to Braves Historian. 

Of these four names, he has the lowest ERA. Even with all the Cy Young seasons where he had a sub-2.00 ERA, Maddux finished his time with the Braves with a 2.63 ERA. That being said, Maddux had a 2.01 ERA in his first two seasons. 

However, Sale has Maddux beat when comparing age-35 and age-36 seasons. Maddux had a 2.85 ERA over those two seasons. While “The Professor” was on the brink of entering his decline, Sale has been in the midst of a renaissance. 

When he first arrived to Atlanta, it was a gamble. He had been dealing with injuries for half a decade in Boston, and he was considering retirement before getting his chance at a fresh start. Even if he had been half as good as he has been, most would have seen it as a good trade. 

Instead, he’s run with the opportunity. Health has remained an issue in both seasons. He was unavailable for the end of last season and the postseason, and then he missed two months, as mentioned earlier, this season. 

A notable difference is that he’s still squeezing more innings in, and he’s been able to stay consistent. Nothing has been able to derail him, per se. He has a club option. It’s a no-brainer that it’ll get picked up. 

There is an argument to possibly extend him further if he wants to keep pitching after next season. If he sticks around, the exclusive milestone of 3,000 strikeouts can still be within reach. By then, he’ll have more than solidified what is already considered a Hall-of-Fame career. 

Maybe even, by then, he’ll have made a case to wear an A on his cap in Cooperstown. All it took for this to even be plausible was a trade that ultimately gave his career new life. 

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