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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale won his first career Cy Young award on Wednesday. Despite his excellent career and six top-five finishes, he had never won the award. The morning after the announcement, he went on Foul Territory with his former teammate AJ Pierzynski. He took a shot at the White Sox, their former team, during the interview.
“Obviously had the best year of my career, winning the CY Young, and one of my losses was to the worst team in the history of the game,” Sale quipped. Pierzynski and former White Sox third baseman Todd Fraizer got a pretty good kick out of that. They were not a part of the worst team in history, but their stories insinuated that they understood how the organization got to this point.
Pierzynski brought up the infamous Chris Sale story about him cutting up the throwback jersey before a start. It got a chuckle out of Sale, who now has a World Series and Cy Young since the incident. What once defined him is now a funny footnote on a Hall-of-Fame career.
In that game against the White Sox, Sale dominated and still got the loss. He threw seven innings, allowed four hits, and gave up one run. The Braves lost 1-0.
Chris Sale continues his excellent career with the Braves
After he missed the entire 2020 season with injury, Chris Sale was not the same pitcher for the Red Sox. Over the next three seasons, he started 31 games with a 3.93 ERA. While that is solid, it is not the greatness fans were used to from Sale. He was traded to the Braves in an afterthought move and given a curious extension. The 35-year-old has now extended his career with this great season.
The Braves needed this season out of Sale in 2024. Their ace Spencer Strider pitched in only two games before suffering an elbow injury that ended his season. Without him, their rotation was much thinner behind Max Fried. By the end of the season, Sale was the top guy for Atlanta and led them to the playoffs.
While the Padres were a strong team unlikely to lose in the Wild Card series, they would have been given a better challenge with Chris Sale. He missed out on the final series against the Mets and the Padres series due to back spasms. He is now expected to shine for the Braves, especially if Fried leaves in free agency and Strider is not ready for the season opener.
