Chris Sale walked into the Red Sox clubhouse and Tanner Houck knew something was up.
The leader of the Red Sox was about to lead.
"It doesn’t matter what you’re doing or what position you play, anybody can step and be that leader. Some people lead in different ways. He definitely is one of those leaders where he is the one up in the locker room saying, ‘Heck, yeah. Here we go!’ I love it. I love that type of leadership," Houck told WEEI.com.
"It’s more about the presence. When that person walks in the room the presence of that guy just screams, ‘I need to listen to this guy!’ He’s definitely that guy. Whenever he walks in a room and he’s going to say something, you listen and you know he’s only doing it because it’s for the benefit of the team and how unselfish he is about the team. He wants the best for the team so when he’s stepping up to say something you know he’s serious and he’s serious about how much he cares about this team."
Sale has become somewhat of a rarity in the world of Major League Baseball.
The 32-year-old is one of the few players who can take over an entire clubhouse, offering the be-all, end-all when it comes to leading a team of big leaguers. Usually, the dynamic is supplied by multiple corners of the clubhouse. Starting pitchers. Relievers. Perhaps a bench player. The star. The veteran. It's why captains in baseball don't usually work.
Sale, however, is different. He has evolved into the same sort of presence the Red Sox haven't seen since David Ortiz left. And, to top it off, he is living this existence as a starting pitcher.
Speaking to WEEI.com on the Fenway Park field Wednesday, Sale offered insight to how and why this role came about:
Question: Do you feel more comfortable filing the role of a leader than every before?
Sale: "Yeah. For sure. Obviously, with age and experience … I think a lot about when I was young and what the older guys meant to me when I was a young guy. A lot of what I do and a lot of what I know have come from those guys. I was like, ‘Shoot, I’m now in that position.’ It was weird for me to always look at myself as a veteran at 26 or 27. But it’s easier now that I’m a little bit older than a lot these guys. Being able to share what I’ve learned with these guys, if it helps it helps, if not, it doesn’t matter one way or another.
I just think that what I went through, I wasn’t as afraid to say something if it was right. Sometimes you can say something that is right or can help and people can look at it one way or another. I just stopped worrying about the consequence just trying to help somebody."
Question: Did you worry about the consequences before?
Sale: "I’m not going to say that I did, but when I first got here we had a real veteran team. I’m not going to put my arm around Rick Porcello or David Price, who have more time than I do. These guys have been to higher levels than I have. Having a young team definitely helps that. And being around AC and how he treats us. If he has something to say he’s going to say it, and it’s always coming from a respectful spot so you know if he can say those things to me and I felt that way about that, then I know I can say some things to people and they will hopefully take it the same way."
Question: Have you talked with Alex Cora about your role as a leader?
Sale: "He leans on us sometimes. There are certain situations that player to player, it comes off better. Then there are other times where the manager has something to say and you need to listen. I think he has a good idea of when to articulate that and when it’s his time and when you need to take care of it."
Question: Isn't it rare that a starting pitcher can take up the primary role as a team leader?
Sale: "You’re right because we play once a week or once every five days. But I stopped looking at it like that because I put in work every day. You can ask anybody here. I get after it. So I think there is a certain level of respect that comes with that. I always respect guys who play well, but guys who go in and bust their ass between days it’s a little easier to see their failures and accept what they say because they’re working.
"Leadership isn’t just as much spoken words as … I don’t say anything that is going to get etched in the halls of here. There is no stone cutout of me getting made right now. I just think how work when I’m not playing and obviously what I do between the lines, people respect that so their going to be like, ‘Hey, if he says something it’s coming from either a competitive standpoint or a respect standpoint because he respects the work he puts in and he competes the way he does.'"
Question: Who was the best leader you have been around, with the understanding that leadership is a subjective thing?
Sale: "It really is because there are things people do sometimes where people can look one way or another. From the competitive standpoint, (Jake) Peavy, for me, was the guy who you could punch him in the mouth and knock him down and he’s doing everything he can to get back up. You can knock him down 1,000 times and he’s going to get up 1,001 times. Rick Porcello is another guy. Very regimented. Very strict the way he went about his business. He was another guy I thought about a lot when I was rehabbing. I always respected what he said because he is a great dude. Rick is a great a person as you will ever meet. I always respected what he said no matter what he did on the field because I knew what he was doing in the weight room. He could go out there and give up eight runs in the first inning and he would beg for the ball in the second inning. Those things for me go a longer way than some of the other stuff."
Question: When you do talk to the team, does it feel satisfying?
Sale: "It’s not weird. It’s not awkward. I guess I don’t really look at it as a gain or a loss. If something comes up and I have something to say about it, I’m going to say it. If you respond to it, awesome. If not, whatever. We have enough other guys around here to police what is going on and our young guys are about as good as you’re going to get."