Chris Sale has been a big league pitcher for 14 years now. He can say something not many pitchers can. He has more than earned the trust of his coaches and battery mates with his results across his career. He's already earned the trust of the Braves, who rewarded him with an extension before he ever threw a pitch for the organization.
Chris Sale is a 7X All-Star pitcher with 7 top 6 finishes in Cy Young Award voting. When healthy, he has proven he is one of the best left-handed starters in all of baseball. As successful as he has been, you would think he likes to be in full control on the mound. This is not exactly the case.
Sale refuses to shake off pitches
Sale does not shake off pitch calls from his catcher. He never has and doesn’t plan to start. Now it sounds like growing up in the old school mindset of “coaches call pitches and you don’t shake off coaches unless you want to run” is the major contributing factor to Sale throwing what is called. However, this does say a lot about how much he trusts his battery mates.
Even though Sale has been in the routine for several seasons now not shaking off pitches, with his status, he has the leverage to disagree with his catchers on occasion. However, he seems to trust Travis d’Arnuad as he should.
This also comes as a surprise to some simply because of Chris Sale’s fiery competitiveness. Most people with his level of intensity can have a one track mind, especially on the mound. Sale may be intense but he understands the importance of teammate relationships and trust to be successful.
So far in 2024, Chris Sale has shown he may not be as good as he once was but has also shown flashes of doing exactly what he came to Atlanta to do. Look for Sale to give the Braves quality starts and give the offense a chance to win baseball games. Just know that any success Sale has this season is partially coming from the pitches that are being called for him by his battery mates.