Chris Sale wins 2024 NL Cy Young award

Chris Sale wins 2024 NL Cy Young award

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale earned the 2024 NL Cy Young award, MLB announced Wednesday.

Your 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner is Chris Sale of the @Braves! pic.twitter.com/fBKCrFj3fu

— MLB (@MLB) November 20, 2024

Given the circumstances, this was one of, if not the best comeback stories across baseball last season. Prior to 2024, Sale went through hell and back with injuries for four seasons before getting traded by Boston for Vaughn Grissom last December.

Like Tarik Skubal, Sale won the National League triple crown, leading baseball in wins (18) and ERA (2.38) while leading the NL in strikeouts (225) across 177.2 innings. He also topped MLB in ERA+ (174) and FIP (2.09), the second-best mark of his career over a full season.

Sale and Skubal became the fourth set of pitchers to win the triple crown in the same season, joining Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw, who did so in 2011.

Only 4 duos have won the AL and NL Pitching Triple Crown in the same season:

1918: Walter Johnson and Hippo Vaughn
1924: Walter Johnson and Dazzy Vance
2011: Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw
2024: Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale pic.twitter.com/Hf4GvUYZJ5

— MLB (@MLB) November 21, 2024

Sale, 35, has finished in the top-5 in Cy Young voting on six separate occasions, including in the top-3 twice with a runner-up finish in 2017. So it’s cool to see him finally break through and win his first career Cy Young, because it’s been a long time coming.

Sale’s stuff didn’t have quite the life it had during his peak, but he still sported elite peripherals. He graded in the 92nd percentile or better in average exit velocity allowed, chase rate, strikeout rate and hard-hit rate–very optimal numbers for season-long success–according to Baseball Savant. He leaned into his wipeout slider more than he ever has while minimizing the usage of his sinker, his worst pitch.

I’m not sure if Sale will be able to replicate this type of effort. He had to put the rotation on his back down the stretch with all the injuries. He’s going to go compete every fifth day regardless, but let’s hope this isn’t the last we see of Sale at the top of his game when everyone gets back healthy in 2025.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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