Braves' Chris Sale Named Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year

The Atlanta Braves starter continues is starting to rack up accolades for his rennaisance season

The Atlanta Braves righty was recognized for his efforts after years of battling injuries / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale has been named the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year by Sporting News. 

Congrats, Chris! 🙌#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/c5DErGKJPp

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 24, 2024

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took home the award in the American League. 

After battling injuries for the better part of five seasons, the eight-time all-star finished 18-3, with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 29 starts. These stats led the league, earning him the first National League pitching Triple Crown since Clayton Kershaw in 2011. 

Sale also led the National League in ERA+ (174), FIP (2.09), home runs per nine innings (0.5) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.4). He also had an impressive 1.01 WHIP. 

Ironically, his season was cut short due to back spasms, but the season is certainly a comeback story nonetheless. Between 2020 and 2022, he made just 11 starts. He’s had Tommy John Surgery, which caused him to miss all of the COVID-shortened season, and even been in a bike accident. 

This season was a chance to remind the baseball world just how good his career had been before the injuries began to plague him. 

Through his first nine seasons in MLB, the latter seven in which he was a starting pitcher, Sale had a 2.89 ERA with 1,789 strikeouts over 1,482 1/3 innings over the course of 287 appearances (207 starts). He made seven consecutive all-star games and received Cy Young votes in each of those years, being a finalist for the award twice. 

These are hall-of-fame numbers, no doubt. But a few rough seasons can derail a career. Between 2019 and 2022, he had a 4.16 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP across 56 starts. These aren’t bad numbers per se, but he was far from being the ace he once was. But, he managed to rekindle that spark with the Braves. 

Sale is a candidate for and is expected to be a finalist and even win some other upcoming offseason awards. He is a finalist for the Comeback Player Award at the Players Choice Awards.

He’s considered the front-runner for the National League Cy Young Award and has a good chance for MLB’s Comeback Player of the Year honor as well.