MLB All-Star Game: Chris Sale joins exclusive company with third start
The starting pitchers were announced for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game during a press conference on Monday afternoon, and the American League starter will be making history.
The 2018 MLB All-Star Game is roughly 24 hours away, and Monday, the batting order and starting pitchers were announced. Chris Sale was announced as the American League starter, making his third straight appearance as the starter, which is a fairly historic thing to happen.
Only two other pitchers in MLB All-Star Game history have made three starts in a row, Lefty Gomez for the American League from 1933-1935, and Robin Roberts for the National League from 1953-1955. It will also be the second straight year that Sale will be matched up against Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who will get the start in front of his hometown fans. The same pitchers squaring off two seasons in a row in the MLB All-Star Game had not happened since Red Ruffing and Paul Derringer did it in 1939-1940.
Just for reference, a quick look at Sales now-contemporaries in Gomez and Roberts in their three-peat seasons:
From 1933-1935, Lefty Gomez won 54 games with a 2.87 ERA, tossing 762 1/3 innings with a 1.25 WHIP and a 140 ERA+. In 1934, he won the American League pitching Triple Crown, with 26 wins, a 2.33 ERA, and 158 strikeouts, all leading the league. For his efforts, he finished 3rd in the MVP voting.
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In his three starts, Gomez tossed 12 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8. That works out to a 3.75 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.
Roberts was in his hey-day with the Philadelphia Phillies when he made his three starts in a row from 1953-1955. He led the league in wins and innings all three seasons. Over that time, he won 69 games, tossing 988 1/3 innings, with a 2.99 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and a 136 ERA+.
Over his three consecutive MLB All-Star Game starts, Roberts tossed 9 innings, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks, striking out 7. That figures to an 8.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.
So far in his first two seasons of his three-year run, Sale has tossed 3 innings, allowing a run on 4 hits and no walks, striking out 3. That gives him a 3.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in those two starts.
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Based on those numbers, Chris Sale has a chance to have the best numbers of the trio that has had the opportunity to start three MLB All-Star Game contests in a row with a strong performance Tuesday night!