Framber Valdez Makes Laughable Claim After Hitting Trevor Story

Detroit Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez

Framber Valdez Makes Laughable Claim After Hitting Trevor Story originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Detroit Tigers lost to the Boston Red Sox 10-3 on Tuesday, but the biggest talking point of the game was a benches-clearing altercation after Fraber Valdez hit Trevor Story.

After giving up back-to-back home runs, Valdez hit Story in the numbers in the fourth inning. The Red Sox dugout quickly emptied, and Valdez was eventually ejected. The Tigers were down 10-2 at that point, and Valdez said that he did not intentionally hit Story after the game. The pitch Valdez hit Story with was a four-seam fastball. It was the first four-seamer he had thrown all season.

"I was trying to use the fastball as a backup plan because I got to do something different against them. Again, it might look like it was on purpose, but it wasn’t,” Valdez said after the game.

The fact that Valdez said that he did not intentionally hit Story is laughable. He has a history of doing stuff like that, and threw a pitch he had not thrown all season.

Valdez's character was a major reason as to why he had to wait so long to sign in the offseason. A situation last September, where he crossed up his catcher after giving up a home run, raised serious questions about him. To help his image, he reportedly circulated a 20-minute video to suitors showing that he is a high-character player.