The Chicago White Sox were scheduled to send star pitcher Chris Sale to the mound against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night. However, Sale was scratched and the club issued a rather vague statement as to why the pitcher was sent home and replaced from his start.
All that was said was that Sale got into an incident in the clubhouse that was of the non-physical variety.
However, it appears the incident in question was a fight between Sale and the club over the wearing of throwback uniforms during his start. Apparently Sale isn’t a fan of the fit and feel of the uniforms and didn’t want to wear them while pitching.
The club insisted on wearing the jerseys and Sale took matters into his own hands by allegedly cutting up all the jerseys in the clubhouse so that the team couldn’t wear the throwbacks.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports things got very heated quickly:
Source: "Sale asked that they not wear (throwbacks) on his day because they are uncomfortable. Things escalated when they wouldn't relent."
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 24, 2016
White Sox GM Rick Hahn issued a statement noting that Sale wasn’t just scratched from the start last night, but has been suspended from the team for the next five days. He also noted that destroying team equipment was part of the reason for his suspension.
Statement from #WhiteSox GM Rick Hahn says Sale was suspended for “violating team rules, insubordination and destroying team equipment.”
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 24, 2016
In a sport full of unwritten rules, superstitions and traditions, this incident may not be as crazy as it seems. Pitchers seem to be the most superstitious of them all and messing with their feel on a jersey apparently is serious business too.
For Sale, the timing couldn’t be worse as trade rumors are swirling around him and blowing up at club management puts a stain on his value should he really want out of the Southside of Chicago.
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