The first for the Braves in 26 years, surprisingly.
The only thing surprising about Sale winning the Cy Young is that it wasn't unanimous. 4 misguided souls put Zack Wheeler first. Sale was a full WAR better.
Yes and no. The run of 6 in 8 years was ridiculous.
Sale absolutley deserves it.
A couple more good years to push him over 60 WAR should get him into the HOF
Sale was a borderline HOFer before this year. The award pushes him over the top, imo. His peak years from 2012 to 2018 were practically equal to his peers (Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer). His peaks weren't quite as high, but he was consistently elite over this span. It's a shame that injuries and COVID robbed us of 5 years of his career.
If I had to guess, I'd say Sale needs another couple good-but-not-great years -- I don't think he's quite passed the bus test yet. But the Cy is a huge feather in his cap, so is the fact that he has a ring (and it's helpful that there's highlight video of him closing out that World Series), and both the media and his fellow players really love him and talk about him like he's a Hall of Famer.
My only hesitation is that I don't how HOF voters are going to handle starting pitchers moving forward. If Sale closes really strong he might end his career with 2,500 innings pitched -- Maddux had 5,008 1/3 for his career. Are Hall voters going to adjust to the drastic changes in pitching usage by lowering their standards for counting stats, or are they going to hold starters to the old benchmarks and basically never elect another starting pitcher again?
And AA gave up Vaughn Grissom for him lol. He stole Chris Sale.
Look for the Tampa Bay Rays to start looking for a new home soon. Pinellas County delayed vote on bonds agreed to build a new ballpark in St Petersburg until next month. Today, the city approved $23 million to repair the roof at Tropicana Field damaged by Hurricane Milton, then reversed course. The Rays time in Tampa Bay looks short
With expansion on the table, a Tampa Bay move would mean baseball in three new locales. I've heard Portland and Nashville mentioned as possible sites, but who else? I wonder if Tampa Bay is trying to snag one of those prime options before the expansion sites are decided.