Chris Sale Loses It Over Controversial Balk vs. Yankees: Braves Ace Ejected, Manager Included
Chris Sale had a very Chris Sale moment at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and the balk call that set him off is going to spark a week of MLB rules debates.
The Atlanta Braves lefty was on the mound in the fifth inning against the New York Yankees with a runner on third, one out, and the game tied 2-2. In the middle of an at-bat with Yankees No. 9 hitter Austin Wells, home plate umpire Dan Merzel called Sale for a balk. Merzel ruled that Sale started and then stopped his motion, which allowed Spencer Jones to trot home from third with the go-ahead run.
Sale did not agree.
The former Cy Young winner marched right at Merzel to argue that the leg flinch was a normal part of his 16-year MLB delivery, one that has never been called before. Braves manager Walt Weiss came out to back his ace and got ejected for his trouble. Sale then took the argument to first base umpire Dan Bellino, who was trying to defuse the whole scene, and continued to plead his case.
He has a point. Sale has been throwing the same delivery since 2010. Every hitting coach, every advance scout, every umpire who has worked a Sale start knows the way his front leg moves. It is odd, it is unique to him, and it has never been ruled illegal until Saturday.
That is what makes the call frustrating. Baseball has a consistency problem when it comes to balks. Some umpires call every twitch. Others ignore obvious hesitations. The rulebook is technically clear but the enforcement is up to individual crews on individual nights.
Merzel decided Saturday was the night to draw a line, and it cost the Braves a run in a one-run game. Sale was ejected shortly after the incident, and Weiss was already gone. That was Atlanta’s night.
Sale is 37 years old and playing on a fresh contract in a season where his numbers have been mostly what you’d expect from a former Cy Young winner in his late 30s. His command has slipped a bit, his velocity is a tick down, but his slider still puts hitters into knots and he still competes like his career is on the line every start.
Saturday’s crash-out was not his first of the year. Sale had another blow-up earlier in the season when he hit himself with a baseball trying to make a play, then went off on a curtain call of frustration. He has always been an emotional pitcher. That is baked in.
The Yankees ended up winning the game, which will only add to the noise around this call. New York fans loved it. Braves fans are furious. Neutral fans are just tired of watching balks decide games in August.
MLB will not do anything with this. There is no fine coming for Merzel and no clarification coming from the league office. Sale will make his next start, throw his same delivery, and dare umpires to call it again. That is how this ends every time. And in a few weeks, when the Braves are trying to run down a Wild Card spot, moments like this one will look bigger than a random Saturday in August.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
