Sale's 3 seasons with Braves have been historically great
Chris Sale’s three‑year stretch with the Atlanta Braves from 2024 through 2026 has been extraordinary for a pitcher in his mid‑30s. Over at least 400 innings, he posted a 2.36 ERA and a 2.31 FIP, both the best among qualified starters, while striking out 31.7% of batters and posting a 26.2% strikeout‑minus‑walk rate, the top two metrics in the Modern Era for pitchers age 35 or older.
His ERA+ stayed above 160 each season, ranking him among a tiny group that includes Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson, and Justin Verlander, and he joins Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to log three consecutive seasons with a 160+ ERA+ at that age. Sale’s 178 cumulative ERA+ for the period tops all MLB pitchers, second only to Jacob deGrom’s 188 over any three‑year span in the past decade, and his +88 pitching run value placed him third in that metric.
Only one other Braves starter, Greg Maddux, has recorded a 160+ ERA+ in three straight seasons, doing so from 1993‑98, underscoring how rare Sale’s achievement is. Despite a history of injuries that limited him to 151 innings between 2020‑23, the veteran left‑hander has proved that his upside outweighs the risk, delivering elite performance well into his late 30s.
