Sean Manaea has never met Chris Sale, but might take a moment to introduce himself to the Braves ace when the Mets play at Atlanta in the final week of the regular season.
Growing up only 40 miles from Chicago in Merrillville, Ind., Manaea watched Sale early in his career with the White Sox and became a “huge” fan of his work. Both are big left-handers, but the comparisons between the two might have ended there until this season.
Sale pitched a superb game against the Mets at Citi Field on July 25 in which he allowed two earned runs over 7 ⅓ innings and struck out nine batters. As he watched Sale frustrate his teammates with his signature low arm slot/sidearm delivery, Manaea had one of those eureka moments.
“I watched Sale and I was like, ‘Why can’t I do that?’” Manaea said this week. “I took it up the next day and it felt really good. For me it feels more natural anyway, so it was like, ‘Maybe I should lean into this instead of fight it.’ I had already kind of been there, but now I lean more into it and suddenly climb more up.”
