How fitting that
Chris Sale will open the Red Sox season today on
Cy Young's 151st birthday. Young, of course, embodied what it was to be an elite pitcher—winning 511 games, and hurling
complete games in 749 of his 827 decisions. Over twenty-two MLB seasons (eight with the Red Sox), Young posted a 2.63 ERA. While wearing
Carmine Hose, Young won 63% of his games (192)—winning more than 30 games twice and more than 20 games in six of his eight years in Boston. The "Cyclone" split his career almost equally between the American and National leagues, but that didn't seem to faze him. In fact, his winning percentage in The Senior Circuit was .624, in the American League it was .610. The game will never see his like again. Maybe Sale can borrow some mojo from Cy on his birthday.
