After being traded away from the Chicago White Sox, Chris Sale has continued mowing down hitters and terrorizing the American League, and in the process he just broke a record held by another Chicago baseball icon.
On Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, Chris Sale recorded his 1500th career strikeout in a dominant performance. Sale, who has a 2.77 ERA and a 15-6 record after being traded to the Boston Red Sox over the offseason, became the fastest pitcher in baseball history to ever record 1500 career strikeouts thanks to the monumental punchout, doing so in 1290 career innings pitched.
Sale’s record eclipses that of former Chicago Cubs hurler Kerry Wood, who reached the milestone in 1303 innings of work.
During his time with the White Sox, Sale made it a point to smash all sorts of strikeout records. He tied an MLB record for most consecutive starts with 10 or more strikeouts, accomplishing that feat eight times in a row in 2015.
He also set a single-season strikeout record while he was with the White Sox, fanning 274 batters in the 2015 campaign.
Incredibly enough, Sale is set to blow by that number with the Red Sox this season. He already has 264 strikeouts in 23 fewer innings this season, and he should get at least a few more starts to potentially set a new career high.
