Earlier tonight when it was announced that White Sox SP Chris Sale had been sent home due to an unspecified “clubhouse incident”, most presumed this to be a curiously-worded cover story prior to his being dealt to a contender for prospects. Instead, it’s being widely reported that Sale, unhappy with Chicago’s plans to don throwback uniforms based on the club’s 1976 ensemble (see above), personally rendered the jerseys unwearable before game time. From South Side Sox’s Jim Margalus :

The team came out wearing 1983 uniforms, which gave Tommy Stokke’s initial report some circumstantial evidence. Ken Rosenthal said Sale cut up the jerseys during batting practice, a last-ditch protest after his earlier complaints about comfort and priorities fell on deaf ears.

(Julie DiCaro said he used a knife, if you were wondering.)

If Sale didn’t have a rich history of insane behavior, he would have a good point. Maybe he still does. Looking back at last year’s post about the 1976 uniforms, I thought the jerseys were too billowy on everybody, but they worked best on the guys with broad builds. Smaller guys like Adam Eaton and Tyler Saladino looked like they were wearing nightshirts.