The Braves’ season has been one wild ride filled with unexpected twists and turns. Injuries have plagued the team, with the losses of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider standing out as brutal blows. Add to that a revolving door of other sidelined players, and you’d think this team would be in shambles. Yet here we are, watching the Braves remain in the thick of the Wild Card race. And much of that resilience can be credited to one man: Chris Sale.
Let’s be honest, outside of Marcell Ozuna, the Braves’ roster hasn’t exactly lived up to preseason hype. But the pitching staff? That’s a whole different story. At the heart of that story is Chris Sale, who’s in the midst of what might just be the best season of his career. Sale is not only leading the charge for the Braves’ rotation but also positioning himself for some serious hardware.
He’s tied for the league lead in wins with 16, but it’s his other stats that truly make him a Cy Young frontrunner. He tops the National League in ERA at 2.38 and boasts an impressive 213 strikeouts. After finishing in the top six in American League Cy Young voting seven times between 2012 and 2018, this could finally be his year to take home the trophy.
“He should be in that MVP conversation…”
– @JonHeyman on Chris Sale’s dominant season#MLBNow pic.twitter.com/gYCsLLttkd
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) September 9, 2024
But wait, there’s more to the Chris Sale story than just Cy Young contention. There’s a growing argument, spearheaded by Jon Heyman, that Sale should also be in the MVP conversation. Now, realistically, Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor are the clear frontrunners for the award, but that doesn’t mean Sale should be overlooked. His story is just as compelling, if not more so.
Ohtani joined the juggernaut that is the Los Angeles Angels with the weight of a billion-dollar contract and sky-high expectations. Chris Sale? He came to Atlanta with barely any fanfare after battling injuries for the better part of four years. No one outside of Atlanta expected much from him. And yet, here he is, arguably having the best season of his career and single-handedly keeping the Braves in playoff contention.
Think about where this Atlanta Braves team would be this season without Sale. If the Braves do manage to punch their ticket to the postseason, how can anyone deny his value?
Sure, the MVP conversation is likely to revolve around Ohtani and Lindor, but you can’t ignore what Sale has done. He’s been the heart and soul of a Braves team that desperately needed a lifeline, and that’s the kind of performance that screams MVP, whether the voters ultimately recognize it or not.
