Chris Sale
Sale's stunning revival in 2024 capped one of the most remarkable comeback stories in recent memory. After years of injury concerns that made him baseball's most fragile ace, the lanky lefthander returned to Cy Young form at age 35, proving his devastating slider-fastball combination remains untouchable when healthy.
The 2018 season represents Sale at his absolute peak — that 2.11 ERA and 196 ERA+ came during Boston's World Series run, when he looked every bit the dominant force who terrorized American League hitters for years in Chicago. His 2,579 career strikeouts tell the story of a pitcher who could make elite hitters look foolish on any given night.
What makes Sale special isn't just the raw stuff, but the competitive fire that burns behind those lanky limbs. Nine All-Star selections don't happen by accident, and that career 144 ERA+ places him among the elite starters of his generation when he's been able to take the ball.
| Date | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | W |
| Jul 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — |
| Jul 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | W |
| Jun 28 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | L |
| Jun 20 | 5.667 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — |
| Jun 10 | 5.667 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | L |
| Jun 4 | 5.667 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | L |
| May 20 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | W |
| May 14 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | L |
| May 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | L |
Career · Hitting
8 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | — | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2012 | — | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | — | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | — | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | — | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | — | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 1.000 | — |
| 2018 | — | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | — | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 245 | 26 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | — | 21 | 23.1 | 2 | 1 | 1.93 | — | 32 | 1.07 |
| 2011 | — | 58 | 71.0 | 2 | 2 | 2.79 | — | 79 | 1.11 |
| 2012 | — | 30 | 192.0 | 17 | 8 | 3.05 | — | 192 | 1.14 |
| 2013 | — | 30 | 214.1 | 11 | 14 | 3.07 | — | 226 | 1.07 |
| 2014 | — | 26 | 174.0 | 12 | 4 | 2.17 | — | 208 | 0.97 |
| 2015 | — | 31 | 208.2 | 13 | 11 | 3.41 | — | 274 | 1.09 |
| 2016 | — | 32 | 226.2 | 17 | 10 | 3.34 | — | 233 | 1.04 |
| 2017 | — | 32 | 214.1 | 17 | 8 | 2.90 | — | 308 | 0.97 |
| 2018 | — | 27 | 158.0 | 12 | 4 | 2.11 | — | 237 | 0.86 |
| 2019 | — | 25 | 147.1 | 6 | 11 | 4.40 | — | 218 | 1.09 |
| 2021 | — | 9 | 42.2 | 5 | 1 | 3.16 | — | 52 | 1.34 |
| 2022 | — | 2 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 3.18 | — | 5 | 1.06 |
| 2023 | — | 20 | 102.2 | 6 | 5 | 4.30 | — | 125 | 1.13 |
| 2024 | — | 29 | 177.2 | 18 | 3 | 2.38 | — | 225 | 1.01 |
| 2025 | — | 21 | 125.2 | 7 | 5 | 2.58 | — | 165 | 1.07 |
| 2026 | — | 18 | 105.0 | 10 | 6 | 2.06 | — | 123 | 1.06 |
| Career | 411 | 2184.8 | 155 | 94 | — | — | 2702 | — | |
Each pitch type this pitcher throws regularly, placed by how the ball moves — sideways break across, rise or drop down the side. Each dotted ring holds about the middle 85% of the league’s pitches of that type, so a cluster sitting outside its ring is movement most pitchers don’t have.
The dots — a sample of this pitcher’s regular-season pitches, placed by movement: left–right is horizontal break, up–down is induced vertical break (what the pitch does beyond gravity). The view is handedness-neutral — positive break is toward the pitcher’s arm side for lefties and righties alike, so every sinker runs right and every sweeper breaks left, whoever throws it.
The dotted rings — about the middle 85% of where each pitch type lands league-wide (a 2-standard-deviation spread), measured from 7.5 million regular-season pitches since 2015. A cluster sitting well outside its ring is movement most of the league doesn’t get. Spring training and the postseason are excluded.
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.