"With his gameplan [...] he thinks his stuff is better than everyone and he proves that it is year in and year out,"
"When he has the confidence to trust what I'm putting down in certain situations, huge situations [...] even the first start - he might not even remember this and that's fine but I still remember it,"
"It was a tough first inning and we started using his change-up to get out of it,"
"[Sale] came in the dugout and [told me] 'I like the change-up call. Great job using it,' and I was like 'I was just kinda trying some new stuff out.' When he said that and I was like 'Wow, this is pretty cool.' It definitely gave me some confidence there that I can do it up there and what I'm seeing I can believe in."
Drake Baldwin earned the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year after a season that stabilized the Atlanta Braves and kept the team competitive. Baldwin regularly caught for the club and played a major role behind the plate. He credited veteran teammates for helping his development and celebrated the award while at Spencer Schwellenbach's house. Baldwin singled out Chris Sale for his impact, describing Sale's confidence and gameplan. Baldwin recalled an Opening Day in San Diego where Sale validated a change-up call, which boosted Baldwin's confidence in pitch-calling and trusting his instincts at the plate and behind it.
Read at Battery Power
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]