Chris Sale (Sort Of) Apologizes But Says White Sox Put Business Over Winning

It’s difficult to ignore the irony in the Chicago White Sox’s win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

The White Sox walked off with a win over Major League Baseball’s best team, and they did so while wearing throwback uniforms just two days after the team suspended ace pitcher Chris Sale for cutting up throwback jerseys before Saturday’s game. Sale didn’t want to wear the 1976 throwback jerseys while pitching, so he took a pair of scissors to them and eventually was scratched from his start.

Sale’s first public comments on the ordeal came Monday. The lanky left-hander apologized to fans and teammates, insisting he wants to remain with the White Sox and bring a World Series title back to the South Side.

“I want to win a championship in Chicago. That’s been my goal from Day 1,” Sale told MLB.com. “It has never changed. I only get more passionate about it because I know that it’s not easy winning a championship. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

That being said, Sale wasn’t ready to back down from his anti-throwback stance.

“When I saw that there was something in the way of that 100 percent winning mentality, I had an issue,” Sale explained to MLB.com. “I tried to bring it up and say, ‘Hey listen, these are my thoughts and concerns,’ and they got pushed away because of the business deal that was set in place. I’ll never understand why we need to do something on the business side on the field that might impede us winning a game.

“(The 1976 throwbacks) are uncomfortable and unorthodox. I didn’t want to go out there and not be at the top of my game in every aspect that I need to be in. Not only that, but I didn’t want anything to alter my mechanics. … There’s a lot of different things that went into it. Looking bad had absolutely zero to do with it. Nothing.”

Sale explained that he went to the White Sox coaching staff and management to protest the move before cutting up the jerseys, but he obviously didn’t get the answer he wanted. White Sox manager Robin Ventura wouldn’t relent, which apparently doesn’t sit well with Sale.

“Robin is the one who has to fight for us in that department,” Sale told MLB.com. “If the players don’t feel comfortable 100 percent about what we are doing to win the game, and we have an easy fix — it was as easy as hanging up another jersey and everyone was fine. For them to put business first over winning, that’s when I lost it.”

Sale also expressed “regret” about missing one of his starts, but he wouldn’t apologize or express regret for taking a stand.

“Do I regret standing up for what I believe in? Absolutely not,” he said. “Do I regret saying business should not be first before winning? Absolutely not.”