It was unlucky Sale was unable to rejoice on the finish of a particular evening. The Braves have been held hitless for five 2/3 innings by Merrill Kelly and misplaced for the tenth time of their previous 13 video games. However Sale nonetheless appreciated receiving this award that honors the reminiscence of a participant who has been close to and expensive to his coronary heart since his grandmother misplaced her battle with Lou Gehrig’s Illness (ALS) when he was simply 6 years outdated.
“Tonight was very particular for me,” Sale stated. “It was truly actually cool that my mother was right here too. She lived that have along with her mom, my grandmother.”
The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is yearly awarded by the Phi Delta Theta Worldwide Fraternity to the MLB participant who greatest exemplifies the giving character of Gehrig, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — a deadly sort of motor neuron illness that causes progressive degeneration of nerve cells within the spinal wire and mind.
Sale’s grandmother would have been proud to see him show his eight-time All-Star arm proper after receiving this philanthropic honor. And he actually had her in his ideas as he recorded 10 strikeouts and allowed only one run over six innings.
“It’s a disgrace we couldn’t rating for him,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker stated. “He was working his tail off. He was competing.”
Sale’s bid for a second straight Cy Younger Award was in hassle when he posted a 6.17 ERA by his first 5 begins. However the 36-year-old left-hander has produced a 1.43 ERA over the eight begins that adopted. His 96 strikeouts rank fifth amongst all MLB pitchers and his 2.93 ERA ranks tenth amongst NL pitchers.
Sale now has 90 double-digit strikeout video games, which ranks eighth all-time. Subsequent on the checklist are Curt Schilling (93) and Sandy Koufax (97).
It was becoming that Sale began on the identical evening the Braves celebrated Lou Gehrig Day. As he warmed up within the bullpen earlier than Wednesday’s sport, his household introduced an influence wheelchair donated by the Permobil Basis to Ben Brandenburg, a Georgia native identified with ALS in 2021.
Brandenburg has been a beloved member of the College of Georgia athletics division since becoming a member of as an intern in 2007. Former soccer coach Mark Richt and present coach Kirby Sensible are amongst those that have lauded his contributions to the college and its athletic groups.
“This award coming to fruition this yr is particular, and I plan to maintain making an attempt to do the most effective I can for ALS and Lou Gehrig and all people with with this illness,” Sale stated. “Hopefully we are able to determine one thing out to, you already know, eliminate this.”
To rejoice Lou Gehrig Day, Braves gamers, coaches and clubhouse employees wore “Terrible Lot to Dwell 4” shirts from Dwell Like Lou and the primary 25,000 followers in attendance acquired a Chris Sale baseball card.
The Braves Basis hosted 24 sufferers and healthcare professionals from the Emory ALS Heart for a pregame hospitality occasion.
Sale and the Braves Basis will fund three extra energy wheelchairs for ALS sufferers by a grant to the Permobil Basis. The Braves Basis may even present a $10,000 grant to the Emory ALS Heart for analysis and a $10,000 grant to Dwell Like Lou to help dwelling accessibility renovations for ALS sufferers in Braves Nation.
