White Sox give Chris Sale ring commemorating strikeout record
The Chicago White Sox held their annual SoxFest over the weekend and took the opportunity to publicly congratulate starting pitcher Chris Sale for a remarkable 2015 season by giving him a ring similar in size and style to rings other athletes receive for winning championships.
Sale was a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable 2015 season for the White Sox. He set the franchise record for strikeouts with 274. That number is featured prominently on the ring. Sale finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting despite playing on a team that went 76-86.
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Sale’s 274 strikeouts were five more than the previous franchise record set 107 years earlier. Ed Walsh recorded 269 strikeouts in the 1908 season. We’re guessing Sale’s ring cost considerably more than Walsh made for the whole season back in 1908. The White Sox purchased his contract in 1903 for just $750.
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Sale’s 274 strikeouts are more impressive than Walsh’s because he needed only 2082/3 innings to get there. By comparison, Walsh threw an astounding 464 innings in the 1908 season, 731/3 more than any other pitcher. Walsh also became the last pitcher in MLB history to win 40 games in a season that year. That’s right, 40 wins in one season.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
