Chris Sale Named To 5th Straight All Star Game, Is On A Hall of Fame Trajectory
Ho hum. Sale will undoubtedly be named the starter of this year’s game and deservedly so. If the schedule didn’t shaken out like it did last year, he would have been named the starter in Cincinnati last year as well. He’s at or near the top in just about every statistical category in 2016 in both standard and advanced metrics. He’s a top 2-3 pitcher in all of baseball, and has been for a half decade now, and should his next 12 or so starts go as planned, will win his first career Cy Young.
***BOLD TAKE ALERT***
After being named to his 5th straight All Star appearance, it’s officially to start throwing out “Hall of Fame” talks. Obviously he has a lot of work to do, and it starts with winning a Cy Young this year. But should he add 3 or so of those, another 5ish All Star appearances, and yes, a World Series ring, we can absolutely start talking Hall of Fame with him. Here’s a few stats that depict how absolutely dominant Chris Sale has been over the last 5 seasons.
1. 3rd all time K/9
2. 10th all time in WHIP
3. 1st all time in K/BB Ratio
Now, these aren’t the typical Hall of Fame stats; ya know 300 wins (probably not gonna happen again) 3000 strike outs, Cy Young winners, etc. But look at some of the names listed here that he’s bettered in massively important statistical categories for a pitcher: names like Walter Johnson, Clayton Kershaw, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Christy Mathewson. These are the names of the best pitchers in the history of baseball. The cream of the Hall of Fame crop.
I can already see the chirps from the comment section: “Tommy John” this and “White Sox suck” that. Will he break down physically? Maybe. Will the White Sox always suck even with him as the anchor in their starting rotation? Probably. Is there always the potential for a trade? You bet. But as I said, should he continue the pace he’s on, in 5 years we will absolutely be talking Hall of Fame as his tradition Hall of Fame stats will be catching up to those already in The Hall.
Advertisement
Please god, don’t waste his prime, White Sox. Sale’s bronze bust won’t look nearly as good sitting next to the Big Hurt’s if he never had the opportunity to pitch in the post season, which is my biggest fear as a fan.
PS – Some Chris Sale highlights just for shits