GLENDALE, Ariz. - Chris Sale stands 6 feet 6 inches and weighs only 180 pounds. In the history of baseball's major leagues, only one pitcher at least that tall, weighing no more than Sale, has ever made more starts. His name was William Jennings Bryan Harriss, but he was known, naturally, as Slim. He pitched in the 1920s.
Sale, the ace left-hander of the Chicago White Sox, is a modern marvel. He does not have a widely known nickname, but his grandfather was called Streamline. The man was a swimmer, Sale explained, and that is how he looked in the water.
'I thought of Chris as a baby giraffe,' said Dan Roszel, who recruited Sale to Florida Gulf Coast University in 2007. 'You looked at him and thought, 'This guy looks like he just got born.' The arms and legs and everything weren't synced up. But it was going to get there. The competitive fire, my goodness.'
It got there so quickly that Sale would soon be on the fast track to the major leagues, throwing just 101/3 innings in the minors and never going back. This was by design, because the White Sox were contending in 2010 and wanted to draft a pitcher who could help right away. Their short-term vision has become their long-term gain.
Sale, 24, may be the most difficult pitcher for major league hitters to track, slowly unfolding his 81-inch wingspan as he leans toward first base, then unleashing a sidearm pitch from across his body after choosing from an array of advanced weapons. White Sox hitters wanted no part of him in their first session of live batting practice last week.
'A lot of good takes,' Manager Robin Ventura said dryly. 'I don't think anybody's ready to start facing Chris.'
Last season Sale averaged nine and a half strikeouts per nine innings, with fewer than two walks. He has made the All-Star team in both of his seasons as a starter, with a career earned run average of 2.97. Few hitters have much of a chance, but left-handers are all but helpless.
'Last year I played dodge ball with him,' said Jason Kipnis, the Cleveland Indians' star second baseman, who missed all four of his team's games against Sale. 'Whenever we faced him, I had a sudden hamstring or back tightness, like, 'Not feeling so good today!' '
Sale grew up in Lakeland, Fla., trying in vain to be a good hitter. Pitching came more naturally, and he channeled his favorite player, Randy Johnson, on the backyard mound his father and his uncle built for him when he was 10.
Drafted by Colorado in the 21st round in 2007, Sale instead attended Florida Gulf Coast, where he showed a knack for finding the positive in a challenging situation. The skill would come in handy years later.
'I was there three years and we had four different pitching coaches,' Sale said. 'A lot of people would be kind of freaked out about that - you have to learn four different philosophies - but I had four different points of view. I had a lot of different people telling me things I could use to help me.'
From Roszel, who is now the associate head coach for pitching at East Carolina, Sale learned to use his legs to generate the proper drive to the plate. Sale could never put on pounds - 'It's nice to be able to eat two chili dogs and not have to worry about it,' he said - but he got stronger in the weight room and gained better muscle coordination.
He found his deceptive delivery in the summer of 2008, after his freshman season, with the La Crosse (Wis.) Loggers in the Northwoods League. Sale was slumping and noticed a teammate pitching well with a lower arm angle. He does not remember the teammate's name, but he has never forgotten the feeling.
'My changeup immediately was better, and my fastball immediately had more tail on it,' Sale said. 'The hardest thing for me to learn was my breaking ball.'
Sale found that as long as he kept his elbow up and his fingers on top of the ball, his slider would slice the right way. His refined repertory fit the White Sox' criteria for the 13th pick of the 2010 draft, and he made 21 late-season relief appearances with a 1.93 E.R.A.
'It's one thing being good at the college level, but now he's pitching against the best hitters on the planet, and he's pouring strikes in,' said the White Sox' pitching coach, Don Cooper. 'He could throw three pitches over the plate consistently, with a funky angle and great movement.'
Johnson, Sale's idol, struggled with control before harnessing his immense talent, averaging 122 walks per season through age 30. In Sale's two seasons as a starter, he has just 96 walks, to go with 417 strikeouts.
The one thing that usually eluded him last season was victory. The White Sox had their worst season in more than 40 years, finishing last in the league in runs and second to last in errors. Sale went 11-14 (not counting a win in the All-Star Game at Citi Field), but Ventura said he earned respect in the clubhouse by never complaining about run support or fielding.
'More important than having good numbers is being a good teammate,' Sale said. 'If you're not a good teammate, you could have the best year in the world and no one's going to like you. What's the point? I took last year as a learning experience.'
Sale is tied to the White Sox through 2019, having signed a five-year, $32.5 million contract extension, with two club options, last March. The deal secured Sale's financial future while setting him up for free agency at age 30, at the latest.
But it also is a bargain within the industry, making Sale among the more attractive trade chips in the majors. General Manager Rick Hahn said he had told other teams that he would need an extraordinary return to deal his ace.
'I'd be lying if I said I didn't mention the name Herschel Walker during a conversation or two when asked about Chris Sale's availability,' Hahn said, referring to the lopsided deal that helped rebuild the Dallas Cowboys in 1989.
'We have to at least listen, but Chris is the type of guy we'd be out looking for in a year or two or three, or whenever we're back ready to win.'
The White Sox are not there yet. But every five days they can watch their giraffe, full-grown and funky, devouring opponents as only he can.
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