The White Sox tossed Chris Sale a curve on uniforms. He threw a cutter back at them.
The team imposed a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine upon the lefty for slicing up throwback uniforms once dubbed the most revolting in baseball history. The franchise hoped for the players to wear the 1976 pullovers with a blue disco collar to coincide with a giveaway of replica jerseys to the first 20,000 fans at U.S. Cellular Field on Saturday night. Sale harbored other thoughts.
He murdered the ugly uniforms for their crimes against fashion by slicing them all up, forcing the White Sox to cart out another set of ugly throwback uniforms, these ones from the mid-1980s, for the team to wear. A source told the TodaysKnuckleball.com, “He cut every jersey up.”
The ghost of Bill Veeck disapproves. But Chet Lemon, Pete Vuckovich, and Jorge Orta perhaps wish they had shredded the softball-strange duds forty years ago.
Sale, scheduled to pitch on Saturday, pitched a fit in the clubhouse because the team refused to accede to his demand to wear something else. He found the jerseys uncomfortable and accused the club of valuing marketing gimmicks over victories. The team sent him home. They ordered him away from the team for five games. The Cy Young Award aspirant misses a start over the slicing.
“Chris has been suspended for violating team rules, for insubordination and for destroying team equipment,” Rick Hahn, White Sox senior vice president/general manager, informed in a statement. “While we all appreciate Chris’ talent and passion, there is a correct way and an incorrect way to express concerns about team rules and organizational expectations.”
Sale boasts a 14-3 record with a 3.18 ERA. Though slumping as of late, the Sale-less White Sox swept the Detroit Tigers on Sunday in the continuation of their suspended Saturday night game and in their regularly-scheduled contest. They did this wearing the red-white-and-blue “Sox” uniforms with the red numbers on the leg. Blame Chris “Scissors” Sale. Or, fault management for scheduling three different uniforms for three consecutive games.