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Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale had difficulties keeping his emotions in on Wednesday night following a rough trip in a minor-league rehab assignment. Check out the best bookmakers for betting on baseball.
Sale has been recovering from a stress fracture in his rib cage that he suffered back in February. Due to his injury, he missed the 2020 season and only pitched in nine video games in 2021.
As a part of his rehab, Sale pitched for the Worcester Red Sox against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, which is associated with the New York Yankees, in the hope that he would be ready to make his 2022 debut. During that match, Sale managed to strike out five and walked five in 3 2/3 innings. However, he was removed from the game after walking a batter with the bases loaded.
He became irritated and smashed a television, as shown in a video that became viral after the game.
“It was all just frustration. I’ve gone months without walking five guys. Nothing’s wrong, I just have some things that I have to clean up,” he said.
“I know exactly what I have to do. I knew exactly what I had to do and that’s why I got so frustrated. I had to fix this, and I didn’t fix it. That’s where that big-time frustration comes out of.”
Despite his failure to cope with his temper, the 33-year-old said he hoped to restore his career by joining the Boston rotation. This was his fourth and possibly final outing in the rehab.
“I’m very ready,” he said. “I know it was a bit of a hiccup today, but it’s nothing that can be ironed out. I just want to be a part of it. I want to get back to my job and pull my weight.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Claim Bloom saw the video and commented on Sale’s behavior during an interview with WEEI 93.7 in Boston.
“So it’s never something that we condone, but there’s a lot of passion in this game, and when you have someone who holds himself to as high a standard as Chris does and who cares as much as he does, sometimes that passion is going to express itself in different ways,” Bloom said.
Bloom said that he had not talked to anyone regarding the video of Sale’s behavior. He insisted that Sale was a competitive person, adding that occasionally people get caught on tape doing questionable things, especially when they are frustrated. Regardless, he said he did not agree with Sale’s action.
Sale has always been known to have a temper. As a member of the Chicago White Sox, he once cut off throwback uniforms, so his team would not need to wear them. He also responded to the questions about his COVID-19 vaccination status with nothing but an intense gaze.
Although the Red Sox does not agree with Sale’s behavior, that will not affect their decision to put him off the injured list. Considering Sale has remained unvaccinated, he will not be allowed to face the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada for their final three-game series at the end of the regular season.
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