Why Chris Sale's Run with Atlanta Braves Requires Further Appreciation

Chris Sale made history in what was arguably his best start of the season. In the Atlanta Braves' 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night en route to another series win, he pitched seven innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out seven.

Those seven strikeouts push him up the all-time strikeouts list. With 2,608 career strikeouts, he passed Tom Glavine on the list. Sale now ranks 29th. Specifically among left-hander pitchers, he’s eighth all-time.

In his next starts, he’ll move up another spot, passing Chuck Finley, when he records his third strikeout. Realistically, there are two more names he can surpass this season: David Cone (2,668) and Frank Tanana (2773).

He’s already third among active starting pitchers, sitting behind Max Scherzer (3.498) and Justin Verlander (3,554).

There’s an outside chance he can pass Cy Young (2,803). That would require 196 more strikeouts. To be fair, he had exactly 225 strikeouts in 2024, but his strikeout rate would need to pick up the pace a bit. It’s currently at 9 strikeouts per 9 innings, when it’s usually above 11 strikeouts per 9 innings.

If he were someone that you knew could still give a team 200 innings, then it wouldn’t even be as much of a discussion of whether he could get another 200 strikeouts. Nowadays, given how the team manages his workload and his track record of health, that’s just not something that can be counted on.

Regardless, Sale is further solidifying his Hall of Fame case. Nearly everyone he passes going forward is someone who made their way to Cooperstown or will make it there eventually. Nineteen arms ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame. Others, such as Verlander, Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw will join that list.

If Sale is right up there with them, that’s a pretty clear sign.

He has at least one more year to go with the chance to pitch into his age-39 season if the Braves pick up his club option.

Assuming that there is a full season of baseball in 2027 (fingers crossed), Sale could potentially reach 3,000 strikeouts by the end of that season. For sure, he’ll have it by the 2028 season.

Every time we see a milestone such as this one, we are witnessing another piece of what has been a comeback arc that is nothing short of incredible. He hasn’t just extended his career and been an effective arm again.

He is back to All-Star form, receiving the nod in both seasons he’s pitched in Atlanta. With how he’s pitched so far this season, he could be on track for a third with the Braves, which would be his 10th overall. He also took home his only Cy Young in 2024, and he may have been in contention for another if not for missing two months of last season.

Along with climbing up the all-time strikeout list, that also makes his case even more obvious. Very few pitchers who are 10-time All-Stars, a Cy Young Award winner and members of the 3,000 strikeout club aren’t in the Hall of Fame.

What should be noted about Sale, too, is that he may be one of the few remaining pitchers who have a chance to reach certain milestones that used to be benchmarks for the Hall of Fame.

If a pitcher won 300 and games had 3,000 strikeouts, he was a surefire Hall of Famer. Those pitchers don't exist anymore. The rate of new members of the 3,000 strikeout club is slowly, too.

Of course, Sale isn't there yet. However, fewer may have a chance to be in the hunt for this milestone and experience the same ascent up the all-time rankings.

Members used to come in large waves. That wave is starting to shrink. Here is the breakdown by decade. The list starts with the 1980s because that's when the size of the 3,000 strikeout club ballooned beyond three members.

1980s: 7
1990s: 1
2000s: 5
2010s: 2 (both in 2019)
2020s: 2 (so far)

There could still be a larger wave this decade, but it could be more of a grand finale as opposed to the last of a specific generation reaching the mark.

There are only two other pitchers in the majors with career totals that sit above 2,000 and below 3,000: Gerrit Cole (2,251) and Yu Darvish (2,075).

Darvish is only barely above 2,000 strikeouts, and he’s 39 years old. Cole, 35, sits 749 strikeouts away from 3,000. He’s been much closer, but he hasn’t pitched since 2024 due to a UCL injury. However, he still has a chance to get there.

After that, it drops off sharply. As crazy as it sounds, there is one pitcher under 30 in the league with 1,000 career strikeouts. Logan Webb, 29, has 1,021. Tarik Skubal (912) and Logan Gilbert (916) will join him this season. Brady Singer (822) could, too.

Meanwhile, Chris Sale reached 1,000 strikeouts when he was 26 years old. He reached 2,000 strikeouts at age 30. If he didn't have that first half of his Hall of Fame career, where he was able to reach those milestones earlier on, there is no time now where he has been able to catch back up.

Everyone else who is higher up on the active career strikeout list is over 30. That doesn’t bode well for the 3,000 strikeout club. The landscape has just changed more than we ever could have expected. For that reason, what will define a Hall of Famer is going to change, too.

Maybe one of those guys who are 29 or older really does get another 2,000 strikeouts. In theory, it could happen, but it isn't very likely.

So, take the opportunity to take in what’s being done by Sale. What he’s done with the Braves requires appreciation, because when he’s retired, that could be it for a some time. Seeing 300 wins is likely an already dead concept, unless Veralnder claws his way there, but there is still a chance to follow the path to 3,000 strikeouts at least one more time with Sale.

There likely won’t be an A on his plaque because of his success in Boston and Chicago. It’ll be blank at this point. However, the Braves will be more than a footnote on it. They will have played a pivotal role in his path to baseball immortality.

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