Report: Billy Butler, Danny Valencia scuffle in A's clubhouse
Danny Valencia and Billy Butler were involved in an altercation in the Oakland Athletics clubhouse that possibly resulted in an injury that kept Butler sidelined over the weekend, according to a published report.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Valencia and Butler scuffled Friday night. Butler sat out the next two games against the Chicago White Sox because of nausea and vomiting, according to A's manager Bob Melvin. The players' beef arose, the Chronicle reported, after Butler told a representative of a shoe company that Valencia was not wearing the cleats he claimed he was.
Butler has struggled since signing a three-year, $30 million deal with Oakland before the 2015 season; this season he's hit four home runs while batting .286. He was teammates with Valencia on the 2014 Kansas City Royals. Valencia is batting .302 with 15 homers in his second season in Oakland.
One former and one current teammate of the pair seemed to side with Valencia in this squabble.