Chris Sale comments on his Hall of Fame status after winning Cy Young award

Chris Sale became the first Atlanta Braves pitcher since the turn of the century to win the National League Cy Young award last night in what was the cherry on top to his remarkable return to prominence.

As Sarah Langs pointed out, he’s the first pitcher to ever finish inside the top five for the award in five straight seasons, then finish outside the top five for five straight seasons before finishing inside the top five again. That might not be easy to understand, but the point is, it is as impressive of a comeback story as there has ever been.

Chris Sale is the first pitcher to:

finish top-5 in Cy Young voting in 5+ straight years
then finish outside top 5 (or no votes at all) in 5+ straight yrs immediately after

AND THEN finish top-5 again after

AND HE WON!

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. baseball is the best@EliasSports

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) November 20, 2024

With the victory, Chris Sale now has a Cy Young award to go along with eight All-Star appearances. He’s among the most decorated strikeout pitchers of all time, averaging 11.1 K/9 throughout his career, has accrued 54.3 WAR over his 14-year career, and he’s far from finished as he prepares for his age-36 season. It’s difficult to imagine a world where Chris Sale doesn’t make the Hall of Fame, but if you ask him, he hasn’t done enough quite yet.

“No, not as it stands right now,” Sale said today on Foul Territory when asked if he’s a Hall-of-Fame pitcher.

I hate to disagree with a legend of the game, but Sale is being a little to humble. Without context, there’s a case to be made that he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. His WAR should certainly be a tad higher; however, with context, it’s an entirely different story.

The baseball world was robbed of five prime seasons of Chris Sale’s career due to injuries. Had he been able to even stay remotely healthy, this wouldn’t even be a conversation. When he’s right, he’s been among this generations most consistently dominant pitchers, especially when talking about southpaws.

There’s no question a little extra dressing on top to end his career will only help his case. But regardless of what happens in the future, this Cy Young award should cement Chris Sale’s place in the Hall of Fame.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire