Chris Sale spent the All-Star break looking back at a Boston run that gave him the highest of highs and the roughest of lows, and he didn’t try to smooth any of it over.
The left-hander, now in the middle of a late-career surge that already includes the 2024 National League Cy Young, Triple Crown and Gold Glove awards, opened up during the 2026 MLB All-Star break about his seven seasons with the Red Sox. The conversation centered on both ends of that stretch: the joy of helping deliver the 2018 World Series and the frustration that came with the injury-filled years after it.
Sale’s Boston resume still jumps off the page. In more than 100 starts for the Red Sox, he posted a WHIP just over 1.00 and was on the mound for the final pitch of Game 5 against the Dodgers in 2018, sealing Boston’s ninth championship.
Even with his career moving into its later chapters, Sale made it clear Boston still means a lot to him.
When he spoke on the FOX desk during the MLB All-Star Game, Sale was direct about what he felt he owed the organization.
"I gave it everything I had."
"I just felt like I owed it to Boston. Like hey, I need to give them everything I have because I really felt guilty for those years of not being able to show up and not play...
I don't know if they'll love me forever, but I'll always love them." ❤️
He also talked with David Ortiz about how things ended in Boston, and about the mental strain that came with those injury-riddled seasons. Ortiz, according to the source, told him Red Sox fans will always remember his dominance and the role he played in closing out the 2018 World Series.
Since leaving Boston, Sale has gone right back to being one of the sport’s best. In 2024, he won the NL Cy Young, Triple Crown and Gold Glove, and he also became the fastest pitcher ever to reach 2,500 strikeouts. This season, he added his 10th All-Star selection.
Sale’s Red Sox years were a study in extremes. Traded to Boston before the 2017 season, he immediately looked like the ace the club hoped for, then saw injuries chip away at his availability. His Boston stat line tells the story: a dominant 2017, a title-winning 2018, then a sharp drop in workload as the injuries piled up.
2017 17-8 2.90 32 (32) 214.1 308 0.97 Led MLB in SO, Cy Young Runner-up
2018 12-4 2.11 27 (27) 158.0 237 0.86 World Series Champion, All-Star
2019 6-11 4.40 25 (25) 147.1 218 1.09 Season cut short by elbow injury
2020 - - - - - - Missed season (Tommy John surgery)
2021 5-1 3.16 9 (9) 42.2 52 1.34 Returned in August
2022 0-1 3.18 2 (2) 5.2 5 1.06 Rib fracture, broken finger
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