First of all, my apologies to Chris Sale for that Edward Scissorhands photoshop from eight years ago because as the former White Sox pitcher made clear he did not use scissors when cutting up throwback jerseys inside the White Sox clubhouse on July 23, 2016. It was a pocket knife and no, it turns out that Sale wasn’t a lunatic and is actually a nice dude. But you know, we all have our moments. His retelling of the jersey-cutting story is must watch.
That was one of the craziest stories I could remember from that era of the White Sox, which by the way included players potentially boycotting in spring training to show support for Adam LaRoche. But that’s a story for another day.
Amid trade rumors, Sale was the scheduled starter on July 23, 2016, at home against the Detroit Tigers, when he was abruptly scratched hours before first pitch and later sent home from the ballpark. That night, the White Sox were obligated to wear their 1970s throwback uniforms, which they had worn during the 2015 season as well. Other White Sox players weren’t fans and as the day’s starting pitcher Sale took the issue into his own hands, making sure no one was wearing those jerseys.
Sale joined The Compound, a baseball podcast hosted by Cubs left fielder Ian Happ, utility journeyman Zack Short and former Cubs prospect Dakota Mekkes this week. Short, who was teammates with Sale during the 2024 season with the Atlanta Braves, brought up the jersey-cutting incident and Sale was more than pleased to share his perspective.
Starts at 23:14.
The Ed Farmer part of the story is probably the best part.
By the way, that was a pretty hefty fine that Sale received. The White Sox suspended Sale for five days following the incident, which cost him $250,000 from his $9.15 million salary in 2016, and the pitcher was also fined almost $13,000, reportedly the cost of the destroyed jerseys.
