Oakland Athletics

Details emerge about an alleged clubhouse brawl between two Oakland A's

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:04 p.m. ET

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Lindsey Foltin

Two Oakland A's teammates were involved in a clubhouse brawl that began with a verbal argument over an equipment endorsement, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Danny Valencia and Billy Butler got into a physical altercation that caused Butler to miss two games over the weekend with a possible head injury -- and it all started with a pair of off-brand spikes.

While the players in question declined to comment on the incident, Slusser spoke with two A's players who witnessed the fight and shared the details.

According to the players, the incident occurred before batting practice Friday when an equipment representative quizzed Valencia about a pair of off-brand spikes in Valencia's locker. Valencia previously had been told not to wear those shoes in games.

Valencia told the representative that he only uses the non-issue spikes during pregame workouts. According to multiple sources, Butler, who has an equipment endorsement with a different company, jumped in to tell the equipment rep that Valencia was lying and regularly uses the non-standard spikes. Butler allegedly told the representative that the company should drop Valencia's endorsement deal.

Angry that Butler could have cost him tens of thousands of dollars, Valencia confronted Butler when the rep left the clubhouse. The argument then heated up and the two began pushing each other before Valencia punched Butler in the temple.

Butler, who wasn't scheduled to play Friday, was held out of the weekend series with the White Sox due to nausea and vomiting, according to manager Bob Melvin.

While Butler and Valencia have what Slusser refers to as a "longstanding loud, joking, back-and-forth bantering relationship," the two might have taken things a bit too far this time and Valencia could end up facing discipline for his role in the fight.

"Those two go at it every day, so in that way, it was pretty normal," one player told the Chronicle. "If Bill had dropped it, Danny never would have done anything. But he kind of kept egging him on. I think it's fair to say he was verbally provoked, very much so. I'm worried about what might happen to Danny now, but at the same time, you don't want to see anyone get hurt."

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