In 2019, there were many crazy events in the MLB season that left MLB fans scratching my there heads. For example when the Nationals went from 19-31 to World Series champions or how Ketel Marte went from a nobody to being the starting second basemen in the All-Star game. Although there are many more events that happened unexpectedly, one of the craziest is how Chris Sale became one of the most overrated players in the league essentially in one night.
Many MLB fans now have the consensus that LHP Chris Sale is washed and doesn’t have anything left in the tank. Rightfully so as he didn’t play as good as he has posting an ERA above 4 and dealing with injuries all season leading up to needing Tommy John surgery in the 2019 offseason. There clearly is an argument that can be made for Chris a Sale being washed, but I think that is absolutely wrong and essentially disrespectful to say that about Chris Sale and his dominance up until his 2019 seasons.
If you’re the casual MLB fan, you would look at the basic stats and say that Chris Sale is washed, he’s not good anymore, or he will never come back to form. I’m writing this article trying to debunk this theory. Looking at Sale’s advanced stats, he posted a 3.39 FIP, 2.93 xFIP, 13.32 K/9, 1.09 WHIP, and a 3.00 SIERA. Those numbers show that even with the ongoing injuries how good Sale was in the 2019 season. There is a bit of worry as Sale posted his highest BB/9 since 2014 which shows he may or may not be walking batters more often than not.
If you take a look into Sale’s career stats, it seems inevitable he will to back to his old self whenever the next season may be. For his career, he’s posted a 3.03 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 2.91 xFIP, 11.08 K/9, 2.07 BB/9, 0.95 HR/9, 1.03 WHIP, 2.81 SIERA, and a stellar 44.5 fWAR. Clearly Sale is dominant and should not be taken lightly just because of one season that looks bad on paper but was actually very productive and somewhat good.
