No one who supports the Atlanta Braves was happy with how their game against the Angels went on Monday night. Sure, Drake Baldwin continued his onslaught, but the rest of the offense largely didn't show up, and the Angels parlayed scoring outbursts in the fourth and fifth innings into a pretty breezy 6-2 win over Atlanta. However, it appears as though no one was as upset as Braves ace Chris Sale.
Sale has a well-earned reputation as being a very emotional and driven player. Not unlike known madman Max Scherzer, Sale previously cut up a throwback jersey he was supposed to wear because he felt the material impacted his ability to perform, and the White Sox ignored his request not to pitch on those days. When he was out on a rehab assignment with Boston, he famously broke a TV after he didn't live up to his own lofty standards. It has made some despise Sale and others absolutely love him. Most Braves fans probably fall in the latter camp.
Well, that ultra-competitive side of Sale showed itself on Monday. It was clear early on that Sale's command was not where he needed it to be at all, and LA was all over him. Things got so bad in the fourth inning that Sale, for reasons known only to him, decided to hit himself in the head with a baseball. Yes, you read that right.
Chris Sale was not happy with himself... and he let it show pic.twitter.com/esRZUWuutB
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 7, 2026
The internet rediscovered that Chris Sale is a bit of a wild card after outburst against Angels
Now, Sale is hardly the first player, nor will he be the last one, to very publicly show his displeasure during a game. As long as he doesn't hurt anyone or cause the team any actual issues by hurting himself like Huascar Ynoa once did when he broke his hand punching a bench, it's fine. However, the number of replies to this video alone that were some version of "chill out, it is one inning in April" was pretty telling as to how much attention bashing himself in the head with a baseball got in the evening hours.
Competitiveness is fine, but dude, can you not do something that could actually hurt yourself? This is the same pitcher who broke multiple ribs diving for an infield grounder last year. You want your players to care when they fail and use that failure as fuel to get better. No arguments there. However, there is a fine line between intensity and recklessness, and it is probably best that Sale not push up against that line too much.
The odds that everyone forgets his start happened at all are pretty high. Sale is coming off a pretty brutal stomach bug, and most of the time, he is very much in control and performs at a high level. He is allowed to have an off night and be pissed at himself for it. He just needs to keep himself healthy because a dumb injury to their staff ace is pretty much the last thing the Braves need right now.