Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale holds strikeout record for both Red Sox and White Sox
The Red Sox are lucky to have a guy like Chris Sale, and like a fine wine, he gets better as the years pass. That’s been very true in terms of strikeouts.
Chris Sale has been great with the Chicago White Sox, but he’s been even better with the Boston Red Sox, and the records can prove it. Now that his season is over, he officially holds the record for the highest K/9 rate in Red Sox history.
Sure, he failed to crack 170 innings for the first time since 2011, but the numbers don’t lie. His 13.5 K/9 is incredible. Had he matched last years 214 innings, he would have been past 320 strikeouts.
Before this season, the Red Sox record was held by Pedro Martinez, who had a 13.205 K/9 in 1999, the year he threw his career best 313 strikeouts. In fact, before Sale joined the Red Sox, Martinez was the only player in team history with a K/9 above 12, which he’s done twice. Sale has also done it twice now.
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The Red Sox aren’t the only team where Sale holds such a record. He also holds the same record for the White Sox. In 2015, his second to last season with the team, his K/9 was 11.818. In terms of K/9, the best eligible White Sox pitcher who wasn’t Sale is Keith Foulke, who posted a 10.509 K/9 in 1999.
It’s not as high as what Sale posted with the Red Sox, but it’s still unbelievable. Sale also holds the White Sox record for strikeouts in a season with 274 and is just five behind Martinez’ Red Sox record.
When it comes to strikeouts, Sale is one of just a handful of pitchers to record at least 270 strikeouts in two different seasons with a different team.
Sale is still only 29 years old and probably has a lot of baseball left in him. He currently has 1,789 strikeouts for his career so he should be able to reach 2,000 at some point next season, which is the final year of his contract.
This brings up an interesting scenario because he will be only 31 years old when he hits free agency and could play for another team. If the Red Sox don’t offer him another contract, or the White Sox for that matter, it’s possible that he could go on to replicate these numbers for a third team.
For all we know, by the time he turns 32, he could have 250 strikeout seasons for three different teams or hold the K/9 record for three teams.
Next. Sale and Price must save Red Sox. dark
The possibilities are endless when it comes to Sale and strikeouts, and the next few seasons will be a lot of fun to watch.