The MLB offseason is known for its unpredictability, where a single All-Star’s decision can either ignite spending sprees or shut down championship hopes. The Atlanta Braves faced such a pivotal moment last offseason when they gambled on Chris Sale, a potential Hall of Famer defying Father Time. Their all-in approach paid dividends, as Sale not only delivered a Cy Young-winning performance but also possibly extended his career at the top level.
Chris Sale made a guest appearance on the Foul Territory podcast, where he hit a home run with his explanation for why the newly crowned Cy Young winner decided to put his retirement plans on hold.
“Yeah, that was something I was talking to my wife about last night (before being named the NL Cy Young Award winner),” Sale shared. “Before I got traded last offseason, we were really planning that this year (2024) was probably going to be my last year playing. I had one more year left on my contract, and we actually pulled our kids out of school. We were doing homeschool this year just so we could travel.”
The Sale family made significant changes, including pulling their kids out of school for homeschooling, to be together for what they thought would be Chris Sale’s final season. However, those plans were quickly upended as Sale’s Cy Young-winning performance secured him another year with the Atlanta Braves, keeping him in the game longer than expected.
Sale explained, “It was like, okay, if we’re going to do this one last year, let’s fully live the baseball life. We went on a lot of trips because we had planned this as my final year before the trade happened. So, we just stuck with the plan and kept doing homeschooling.”
Homeschooling still allowed for plenty of field trips, and Sale’s children had the chance to travel across the country last season, experiencing various parts of the U.S. while their father focused on his career.
“We went to Philadelphia and learned about the founding fathers,” Sale shared. “We visited Alcatraz in San Francisco and Red Rocks in Colorado. It was great having the family together and letting them experience it all. I haven’t been able to travel much these past few years because of injuries, so it was special to have that time. It goes by so fast, and we wanted to stay close as a family and enjoy it while we could.”
