Chris Sale is a former American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 11 seasons. He was born on March 30, 1989, in Lakeland, Florida, and attended Florida Gulf Coast University. Sale was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the first round of the 2010 MLB draft and made his debut in August of that year.
Sale quickly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league, earning six All-Star selections and finishing in the top six of the American League Cy Young Award voting in each of his first seven seasons. He was known for his unorthodox delivery, which featured a low arm slot and a sweeping motion across his body.
During his time with the White Sox, Sale compiled a 74-50 record with a 3.00 ERA and 1,244 strikeouts in 1,110 innings pitched. He led the league in strikeouts in 2015 and 2017 and finished second in 2016. Sale also set a record for the most consecutive games with at least 10 strikeouts, with eight in 2015.
In December 2016, Sale was traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a package of prospects. He continued his dominance in Boston, earning four more All-Star selections and finishing in the top five of the Cy Young Award voting in each of his first three seasons with the team. Sale helped lead the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2018, pitching in relief in the decisive Game 5.
However, Sale's career was plagued by injuries in his later years. He missed significant time in 2019 and 2020 due to elbow and shoulder issues, and underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020. Sale did not pitch in the majors in 2020 or 2021, and announced his retirement from baseball on March 22, 2022.
Despite his shortened career, Sale is widely regarded as one of the best pitchers of his generation. He finished his career with a 109-73 record, a 3.03 ERA, and 1,789 strikeouts in 1,629 innings pitched. Sale's 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings is the highest rate in MLB history among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched. He also holds the record for the most strikeouts in a pitcher's first 1,500 innings, with 1,789.
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