The great thing about sports is that, even when you think you’ve seen it all, the game always finds a way to surprise you. Whether it be an epic upset, an improbable catch or an impressive pitching performance, the one underlying fact about sports is that it has the ability to make you think, “What in the heck did I just see?”
And it doesn’t always have to be on the field, either.
On Saturday night, White Sox ace Chris Sale was slated to take the mound against the Detroit Tigers, in what many speculated to be his last start for Chicago’s north-side club before he was shipped off to a contender at the trade deadline. Shortly before the game was scheduled to begin, however, news came down that Sale had been removed from the lineup.
At this time of year, a late scratch like that generally only means one thing: The White Sox and a Sale-suitor were obviously close to hammering out a deal for the lanky left-hander.
But this weekend, truth was stranger than fiction indeed.
The reports came flying in on Twitter: Sale was traded, Sale was hurt, Sale had the flu. But then, the truth came out.
Sale, unhappy with the White Sox’s decision to play the game in the team’s ugly, collared, throwback uniforms, did the only logical thing a rational human being would do in that scenario: he went into the clubhouse during his team’s batting practice session, grabbed a knife, and sliced up all the jerseys.
I’ve been a sports fan all my life; I’ve seen all manner of clubhouse disputes find their way past locked doors, but this one?
This one is a real doozy.
But as with all clubhouse explosions, one would have to imagine this goes a bit deeper than the sartorial choices of the White Sox. Sale has been at odds with the Sox management all season long. From the flap about team officials asking Adam LaRoche to limit the amount of time his son spent in the clubhouse—a move that led to LaRoche’s retirement and some protestations from White Sox players, including Sale—to his displeasure with the team’s general inability to win games, and the swirling trade rumors, this was a potential maelstrom just waiting to boil over.
Add to that, the reports that Sale had previously asked the White Sox to forgo the throwbacks on days he was pitching. He said it interfered with his delivery, and this became a perfect storm of frustration.
