ATLANTA BRAVES' CHRIS SALE NAMED 2024 WARREN SPAHN AWARD WINNER National League Triple Crown winner named baseball's best lefty
Press Release for Immediate Release
November 21, 2024
Oklahoma City – Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves today was named the 2024 Warren Spahn Award winner as the best left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
Sale posted an incredible season on the mound for the Braves with a 18-3 record, tied for the most wins in the regular season. The Lakeland, Florida native also posted a 2.38 ERA, the lowest in Major League Baseball, and led the National League (NL) with 225 strikeouts.
In his best season since 2017, Sale helped lead the Braves to its seventh consecutive postseason appearance. He also became only the third in franchise history to win the National League pitcher’s Triple Crown, by leading the NL in wins, total strikeouts and ERA (for qualified starters), and the first to do so by an NL pitcher since Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw in 2011 (4-time Warren Spahn Award winner).
Sale received further recognition for his historic comeback season by being named 2024 Brave of the Year by the Atlanta chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, receiving 16 of 18 total votes. The Triple Crown winner also took home his first career Cy Young Award on Nov. 20th as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball for the National League.
"Along with having an incredible season, Chris is the first Atlanta hurler to win the award that bears the name of the all-time winningest left-handed pitcher and Braves great, Warren Spahn" said Mike James, Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame President and Executive Director. "We are truly grateful to the Spahn Family for working with us in continuing to keep their grandfather's legacy alive through this award and his personal exhibit at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame."
Presented annually to MLB’s top lefty, the Warren Spahn Award is based on a pitcher’s wins, strikeouts and earned run average (ERA). Presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the award is named after Oklahoman and National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee, Warren Spahn, whose 363 wins is the most ever for a left-handed pitcher.
Past Warren Spahn Award winners include: Blake Snell (2023, 2018), Julio Urias (2022-2021), Hyun-jin Ryu (2020), Patrick Corbin (2019), Clayton Kershaw (2017, 2014-2013, 2011), Jon Lester (2016), Dallas Keuchel (2015), Gio Gonzalez (2012); David Price (2010); CC Sabathia (2009–2007); Johan Santana (2006, 2004); Dontrelle Willis (2005); Andy Pettitte (2003); and Randy Johnson (2002–1999).
Warren Spahn is the winningest left-handed pitcher in baseball history with 363 victories all but seven coming with the Boston Braves and Milwaukee Braves.
Spahn holds the National League’s lifetime marks for innings pitched over his 21 year career, hurling two-no hitters and winning the 1957 Cy Young Award. He won 20 straight games 13 times, six years in a row, leading the National League in wins eight times. He was the mainstay for the Braves’ pitching staff for two decades and led the National League in strikeouts for four consecutive years.
Spahn’s career was interrupted by WWII and he did not earn his first win until 1946 at age 25. During the War, he earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He relied mostly on a fastball and curve, and had a modest 8-5 record, but in 1947 he was 21-10, leading the NL in ERA (2.33).
He led the league in ERA in 1953, and failed to win 20 games only once between 1953 and 1961, as he began to master changing speeds and location to keep hitters off balance. In 1957, at the age of 36, Spahn led the Braves to the pennant with a 21-11, 2.69 record and began a string of five consecutive seasons leading the NL in wins. Spahn led the Braves to win the 1957 World Series.
In September 1960, he pitched the first no-hitter of his career against the Phillies, and the 4-0 win was his 20th of the season. The following year, he no-hit the Giants 1-0, just five days before his 40th birthday. That August, he best the Cubs in a packed Milwaukee County Stadium for his 300th victory.
Despite slumping to 18-14 in 1962, Spahn still led the NL in complete games and had a 3.04 ERA and tied his career-best record with a 23-7 mark. He did not retire from baseball until the age of 44. Spahn played for the Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants during his reign. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, his first year of eligibility, holding the National League record for career home runs by a pitcher with 35. Born April 23, 1921 in Buffalo, New York, Spahn was reared in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He died November 24, 2003.
