Chris Sale Secures NL Cy Young Award, Achieving Triple Crown Milestone

Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Chris Sale has been awarded the National League Cy Young Award for his remarkable performance during the 2024 baseball season. Sale, who finished with an impressive 18-3 record, also led the league with a 2.38 earned run average (ERA) and recorded 225 strikeouts. These achievements made him the ninth «triple crown» winner in the National League history to claim the Cy Young Award.

The previous notable «triple crown» winners who secured the Cy Young Award include legendary pitchers such as Sandy Koufax, who achieved this feat in all three of his Cy Young wins (1963, 1965, 1966), and others like Steve Carlton (1972), Dwight Gooden (1985), Randy Johnson (2002), Jake Peavy (2007), and Clayton Kershaw (2011). The American League also boasts six «triple crown» winners.

For the Atlanta Braves, this triumph marks the eighth occasion a pitcher from their team has taken home the prestigious Cy Young Award. Sale joins the ranks of iconic Braves pitchers such as Greg Maddux, who won the award three times (1993-1995), Tom Glavine who secured it twice (1991, 1998), John Smoltz (1996), and Warren Spahn (1957).

Chris Sale had previously come close to winning the Cy Young Award, finishing as the runner-up in the American League in 2018 while playing for the Boston Red Sox. In that year, he was bested by Cleveland‘s Corey Kluber in the voting, a competitor who also won over Sale in 2014 when he was with the Chicago White Sox.

The runner-up for this year’s National League Cy Young Award was Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies, marking his second such finish after being runner-up to Milwaukee‘s Corbin Burnes in 2021. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Pirates‘ rookie right-hander Paul Skenes received significant recognition by finishing third, the highest for a rookie since Jose Fernandez in 2013. The only rookie to have ever won the Cy Young Award remains Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The voting for the Cy Young Award took place before the postseason, utilizing a points system that grants seven points for a first-place vote, four for second, three for third, two for fourth, and one for fifth place. Sale and Wheeler were the only two pitchers to appear on every ballot, showcasing their broad approval across the league.

The specific results of the voting revealed that Chris Sale amassed 198 points, with Zack Wheeler close behind at 130 points. Paul Skenes followed with 53 points, ahead of other notable performers including Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres and Shota Imanaga from the Chicago Cubs.