Chris Sale had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during his tenure with the Boston Red Sox.
He won a championship and dominated for stretches while also dealing with a ridiculous run of freak injuries. The time came for the sides to part ways last offseason when the Red Sox traded Sale to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Vaughn Grissom. There was always the possibility that a change of scenery could fully restore Sale.
That’s exactly what happened in a masterful season that earned him his first career Cy Young award, as announced Wednesday night.
Ironically, the most notable individual season of Sale’s career was originally going to be his last had he stayed and finished his deal with the Red Sox.
“That was actually something I was talking to my wife about last night,” Sale shared on “Foul Territory” on Thursday. “Before I got traded last offseason, we were planning that this year was probably going to be my last year playing. Had one more year on my contract and actually pulled our kids out of school and did homeschool this year just so we could travel.”
While the Sale family took 2024 to “fully live the baseball life,” plans changed just a bit when the Braves offered the former Red Sox ace a two-year extension, which he signed to continue his career with Atlanta.
While his World Series ring and great sports memories came from Boston, Sale’s greatest personal hardware comes from Atlanta.
