Red Sox: Chris Sale’s NSFW comment doesn’t bode well for vaccine status
By Mark Powell
The Red Sox avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays in Toronto, where they were shorthanded due to the COVID-19 vaccine status of several star players.
This, ironically enough, does not include Sale, who is still rehabbing in the Red Sox minor-league system. However, he has yet to be vaccinated and appears unlikely to do so moving forward.
Were Sale to come back, he’d immediately jump near the top of the Boston rotation, assuming that’s where they choose to use him. Sale hasn’t truly looked like himself on the mound since 2018 due to injury struggles, and has barely pitched since 2019 despite a few outings near the end of last year before the playoffs.
Nonetheless, he has that kind of talent.
While the postseason is three months away, as things currently stand Boston would have to travel to Toronto for a playoff series. That would leave the likes of Tanner Houck, Jarren Duren and Sale off the team.
Red Sox: Chris Sale doesn’t discuss COVID-19 vaccine status
What does Sale think of this?
Chris Sale didn’t want to talk about whether his vaccination status will change. He said he’d figure out that “shit” our later. For now, he’s having fun
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) June 30, 2022
While Sale’s status is less meaningful than that of, say, Houck, who is the team’s primary closer and will have a large role to play in their overall success this season — it would still be nice to see him step up to the plate as a leader and say he’s open to such a change.
What Sale, or any other human, puts in their body should be up to them. But in having that choice, we must deal with the repercussions and questions that follow. In this conversation, we are discussing a life-changing vaccine that impacts not just those taking it, but others around them as well, lessening the impact of a virus that literally forced us inside for months on end.
Of course, some do not want to read that, or do not believe it. And that’s your right.
From a baseball perspective alone, it will impact Boston’s chances — bar none — if two key members of their pitching staff are sidelined from a potential playoff series in Toronto. That is why this remains such a hot-button topic.
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