On the mound last week, Chris Sale, the 24-year-old ace of the Chicago White Sox, was practically unhittable. In two starts, he threw 16 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed just four hits and struck out 19 batters. That was all impressive enough.

But what really left teammates in awe of Sale was his performance on a charter flight to California. In a four-hour masterpiece, Sale packed two ice cream sundaes and, by one teammate's estimate, around 30 bags of potato chips into one of the skinniest bodies the sport has ever seen.

"I may or may not have done that," Sale said.

Sale is one of baseball's most promising young pitchers, a dazzling left-hander coming off an All-Star season in 2012. But in terms of pure metabolism, he may already be one of the game's all-time greats.

He eats like a man whose gut should protrude far over his belt, yet he looks like a man who could be blown off the mound at any moment by a strong gust of wind. At 6-foot-6 and just 180 pounds, Sale is baseball's answer to Takeru Kobayashi, the 128-pound hot-dog eating champion.