ATLANTA — What does Chris Sale remember about his childhood idol Randy Johnson’s 2001 season?
“Acting like him while pitching to my dad in the backyard,” Sale said. “I think that might have been the year [our team] went to Cooperstown, too. It’s funny you say that, because the coach of that travel ball team nicknamed me The Little Unit, because [Johnson] was The Big Unit.”
What is the significance of 2001? Sale was a 12-year-old aspiring athlete from Lakeland, Fla. Now he’s 37, just like Johnson was during that memorable season that resulted in him winning both the NL Cy Young Award and a World Series title with the D-backs.
Sale isn’t going to match the incredible 372 strikeouts Johnson produced during that 2001 season. But his ERA is better than his idol’s through the first 18 starts of their respective age-37 seasons.
Sale strengthened his Cy Young Award resume as he constructed his latest gem against the Rangers on Friday night at Truist Park. The veteran southpaw allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings and exited with MLB’s third-best ERA (2.06) with plenty of support from Braves’ bats in the 15-1 win.
“I’ve talked about him being a Hall of Famer,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He just went to his 10th All-Star Game. He’s doing some really impressive things and putting together a really unbelievable career.”
Drake Baldwin highlighted his five-RBI night with a homer in the fourth. But the All-Star catcher also had a front-row seat as Sale recorded six strikeouts, pushing his season total to 123 and his career total to 2,702.
Sale’s bid for a second Cy Young Award in three seasons remains strong. He has a 1.72 ERA over his past 15 starts. His latest effort marked the first time a Braves pitcher has completed at least seven innings since he did so against the Marlins on May 20.
“It’s pretty special,” Baldwin said. “He can do a lot of great things and execute them at a high level.”
Sale’s birthday came three days after his Opening Day start. So, he is now the ninth pitcher of the modern era to record 120 or more strikeouts through the first 18 starts of a season while 36 years and 362 days or older. But he became the first to do so with a sub-2.30 ERA since ERA became an official stat in 1913.
Sale is the 11th pitcher of the modern era to record a sub-2.10 ERA through the first 18 starts of a season at 36 years and 362 days or older. Cy Young accounted for five of the previous 14 times this has happened. Young is also the only pitcher to have multiple such starts to a season at this age or older. Justin Verlander in 2022 had been the most recent addition to this exclusive group.
The only other pitchers to record 120 or more strikeouts at this age through the same portion to start a season were Steve Carlton (twice), Roger Clemens (four times), Jacob deGrom, R.A. Dickey, Johnson (four times), John Lackey, Nolan Ryan (five times) and Max Scherzer.
Scherzer’s 2.33 ERA in 2022 had stood as the best mark among the members of this group. Johnson’s 2.46 ERA through 18 starts in 2002 ranked second. The Big Unit was on his way to a fourth straight Cy Young Award and the fifth of his career during that age-38 season.
Sale was watching from afar when Johnson posted a 2.49 ERA and recorded an incredible 372 strikeouts during his age-37 season in 2001. Twenty-five years later, he has a greater appreciation for what The Big Unit did.
“The numbers part of it comes secondary to winning games and being a good teammate,” Sale said. “I do appreciate it. It’s crazy for me to be even mentioned in the same conversation as [Johnson]. It’s humbling to say the least.”
