By Woodrow Carroll
The Atlanta Braves have been one of Major League Baseball’s success stories in recent seasons. The Braves have made numerous playoff appearances, highlighted by a World Series championship in 2021. This season, Atlanta is well positioned for a playoff berth as a wild-card entrant, although winning the National League East championship will require the Braves to step it up a bit,
Are you ready for a bit of trivia? Name the only Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise to have won a World Series based in three cities! Answer: The Braves. The Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics, four games to zero in the 1914 World Series. The Milwaukee Braves defeated the New York Yankees, four games to three in the 1957 Fall Classic. In Atlanta, the Braves knocked off both Cleveland in six games in 1995 and Houston in six games in 2021.
Despite taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend, the Braves, 49-39, were eight games in back of the Phillies in the National League East Division race at week’s beginning.
If the Braves are to win a World Series, a key to a successful postseason run may be pitcher Chris Sale. He was signed in the off-season by the Braves and looks like a contender for the Cy Young Award pitcher of the year in the National League as we near the July 16 all-star break.
With an 11-3 won-loss record through Sunday, Sale was an easy choice for a spot in the National League all-star lineup.
He has been a winning pitcher in his stops in Chicago with the White Sox, then with the Boston Red Sox, and now in Atlanta. Sale spent seven seasons in a White Sox uniform. He had solid statistics with the White Sox, but, no postseason appearances! That changed when Sale was traded to the Boston Red Sox.
Sale is a competitor! While with the White Sox, Sale destroyed a pair of throwback uniforms because he felt the uniforms hindered his pitching and a five-game suspension followed.
One of the players involved in the trade that sent Sale to the Red Sox was pitcher Michael Kopech. In Sunday’s White Sox game at Miami Marlins, the Sox led 4-1, then dropped a 7-4 decision. The losing pitcher was Kopech who gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the Marlins the victory. Kopech is 2-8 this season and was 17-33 lifetime in MLB..
In Sale’s first two campaigns in Boston, 2017-2018, his record was a combined 29-12. In 2018 was a World Series championship for the Red Sox with Sale playing a role as a key contributor. Then arm problems set in and Sale struggled.
Just what did the Braves get with a healthy Sale? He holds MLB record for reaching 2,000 strikeouts faster than any pitcher. Sale needed only 1,626 innings to reach the 2,000 strikeout figure. Another figure is the that he has a winning record. Lifetime, Sale was 131-83 in pitching for White Sox, Boston, and Atlanta. What Sale has done is post winning records, however, he is without a 20-game victory season.
The most victories in a season for Sale was in both 2012 and 2016 with the White Sox and in 2017 in his initial campaign with Boston when he ended with 17 victories each season. With his fast start to the present season, Sale might end up with a career high in victories.