Braves Today

Braves Mascot 'Blooper' Throws Major Shade After Chris Sale Wins Post-Season Award

The Atlanta Braves mascot sent a significant shot at a Chris Sale critic from last offseason after the pitcher won the NL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Dave Holcomb

Atlanta Braves mascot Blooper
Atlanta Braves mascot Blooper / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Blooper might have thumbs too big to tweet on a phone. But he apparently "keeps the receipts."

After Atlanta Braves left-handed starting pitcher Chris Sale won the National League Comeback Player of the Year award, the team's mascot trolled Deadspin. The website's X (formerly Twitter) account called Sale "washed-up" when the Braves acquired him last offseason.

It goes without saying, Braves fans who saw Blooper's tweet loved it.

"Get em, Blooper," wrote Coach Duggs.

"Retraction," wrote Real Drew Atkins.

"That is definitely a comeback!" Joel Collins wrote.

In Deadspin's defense, there's a reason why Sale was a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year award. He dealt with several injuries from 2020-22. In 2023, he was able to make 20 starts, but posted a 4.30 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with a 6-5 record.

That was a far cry from his 2.11 ERA and 0.861 WHIP from 2018, which was his last All-Star season before 2024. And since he turned 35 in March, there were a lot of skeptics who argued Sale wouldn't be able to recapture his All-Star form.

But that's why we love sports. Being an athlete is a lot about proving people wrong. Sale did that and then some, putting together arguably the best season of his career in 2024.

He finished 18-3 with a 1.013 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 117.2 innings. He averaged more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings for the first time since 2019 and tossed at least 160 frames for the first ocassion in seven years.

With those totals, Sale won the NL Triple crown, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

By the end of the offseason, Sale shouldn't have just a Comeback Player of the Year award on his mantle but also his first Cy Young trophy.

It will be interesting to see if Blooper trolls any of the left-hander's other doubters if Sale brings home that hardware too.

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Dave Holcomb
DAVE HOLCOMB