By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
When the Atlanta Braves traded second base prospect Vaughn Grissom for Boston Red Sox Pitcher Chris Sale, people were split on the deal. Now it looks like an incredible victory for the Braves, as Sale is on the cusp of winning the Cy Young Award. Only the recent anti-Braves bias when it comes to pitchers could cost this deserving hurler the award.
Believe it or not, not everyone thought the Braves would win this trade. Sale had a history of injuries, which would keep him from reaching his full potential. There was that accusation of him cutting up White Sox throwback uniforms, but when you see how hideous they were, you might cut him some slack (pun intended). Plus, they were interfering with how he pitched, and I think Sale knows something the White Sox don’t seem to know. Additionally, Grissom had plenty of potential, and some good moments for the Braves. When Ozzie Albies was hurt, commentators chided the Braves for getting rid of Grissom.
Now, few see the deal as anything but beneficial for the Braves, not Boston. Grissom would have to win an MVP for the Red Sox to break even, and be a Hall-of-Famer for Beantown to claim victory. After Sale shut down the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shoehi Ohtani, he went 17-3, along with a 2.35 ERA, according to ESPN.
But then again, there are those who can’t wait to tout other pitchers. Some are pushing hard for rookie Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bryce Harper, the man who scuffed out the Atlanta A, thinks Philadelphia Phillies starter Zach Wheeler is better. ESPN has St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley ahead of Sale in the stats sheet.
Tony Blengino of Forbes made the case for Sale to win the Cy Young Award over Skenes. How many innings are thrown matters, and Skenes hasn’t been up as long. He also uses some advanced stats I have never heard of to back Sale for the top spot. I look for Skenes to win the Rookie of the Year Award this year, and to compete for Cy Young Awards in the future against the likes of Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves.
Harper has reason to like his teammate Wheeler, who is outstanding but is ranked behind Sale in the ESPN stats sheet. Wheeler’s earned run average (ERA) is higher and his strikeouts are fewer. I bet Wheeler gets some postseason awards if he takes the Phillies deep into the playoffs.
As for Helsley, it comes down to a reliever vs. starter debate for one. How can you judge when the statistics are different for each? Helsley does have a lower ERA (2.15 to 2.35), but even though he has thrown 110 fewer innings, the Cardinals reliever has more losses than Sale. That’s not good. Moreover, Helsley may not even be the best reliever. He does have more saves, but Raisel Iglesias of the Atlanta Braves, and Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins, have lower ERAs (1.87 and 1.61, respectively). Plus, Helsley has two more losses than Iglesias.
Did I also mention that Chris Sale is a nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, one given to those who serve their community, as the generous Pirates phenom did?
Sale does have only one barrier to taking home the award for best pitcher: an anti-Braves bias. It doesn’t seem to affect Braves hitters, as Terry Pendleton, Chipper Jones, Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna have all won MVP Awards against great competition. But after the glory days of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, with so many Cy Youngs and Hall-of-Fame careers (seven in eight years for that trio), it’s a little harder for Braves pitchers to get the recognition they deserve for outstanding seasons. Just ask Denny Neagle, Kevin Millwood, Kyle Wright, Max Fried and Spencer Strider. Hopefully, Sale will overcome this bias against Atlanta pitchers, and get the award he deserves.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.
