CAROLYN MULLARKEY
Staff Writer
Cheating and baseball.
They kind of go hand in hand since the 1919 Black Box scandal.
It has evolved over the years, of course, from corked bats, Pete Rose’s betting, pine tar, steroids, and now technology.
By now, the world knows the Astros will be exposed for cheating, and this scandal has evolved more into shaping the MLB in the future … positively or negatively though?
That hasn’t been determined.
If somehow you’ve avoided hearing about what had happened, essentially, the Astros were caught using secret cameras to steal signs from centerfield so that they could then be relayed to the dugout, then to the batter.
Now, stealing signs is a part of the game.
It is totally legal and one of the most interesting parts.
The thing is, you can’t use technology to do it.
Now, the Astros for sure aren’t the only team utilizing technology or other shady tactics.
The Red Sox were caught using Apple Watches, The Cardinals hacked into databases … so this isn’t anything new. Not that it excuses it, but it is something important to remember and consider.
Bottom line “everybody is doing it” is still not a defense.
Were the Astros a talented team and probably did not have to cheat to land themselves to win in 2017 and make it there in 2019?
Probably.
It is the fact they won, in my opinion, that makes people the most upset.
Teams that aren’t winning but still cheating aren’t going to get into the spotlight and take any heat.
The idea follows that of Jose Altuve’s walk-off two-homerun off of Aldoris Chapman, which took the Yankees out of the series.
That is something now that is always going to be questioned and take away from everything they truly did work for and discredited any titles or wins received between the years 2017-2019.
The punishments received were less than a slap on the wrist.
It wasn’t just a one person job.
This was multiple people directly involved in this scheme and even more so that knew it was going on despite maybe not being involved directly.
In the Astros organization alone, General Manager, Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch have each been suspended for the 2020 season without pay.
Of course, Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran were both let go from the Red Sox and Mets, respectively.
Back to Houston, they’ve been fined an underwhelming $5 million and forfeited their first and second round picks in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Now this isn’t a lot to unpack, but baseball money is known for being ridiculous.
Gerrit Cole’s contract of $324 million just proves that $5 million to a major league baseball team is absolute chump change.
The losing round picks sucks for them, but it’s not detrimental at the end of the day.
No titles or championships were revoked.
That was the entirety of their punishments besides losing credibility, loyalty and respect by baseball teams, players and fans alike.
That is probably worth more than anything the MLB organization gave them.
A few things are for sure this upcoming season:
1. The Astros are going to be watched like hawks, especially in their dug out. No trash cans will be lying around or any banging will be happening under any circumstances.
2. One statistic the Houston Astros will be leaders in if not hits … hit by pitches. That’s been proven enough so far in Spring Training and I don’t think its over yet.
3. I would pay a lot of money to go to the first Yankees vs. Astros regular season game and just watch Aaron Judge’s interactions with Jose Altuve.
In about 2 weeks, the regular season begins.
The 2020 season, I think will be one of the most interesting ones yet as it progresses closer to October.
Will the Astros try and play up this “underdog story” in a very Yankees fashion?
Who will represent the American League?
I can’t say just yet, but I know it will be one hell of a series.