Mason Minerva
Only three years ago, the Houston Astros were the feel- good story in all of sports. Following Hurricane Harvey, the Astros World Series win put them on par with the 2010 New Orleans Saints, or LeBron James whenever he was in Cleveland. They inspired hope in an entire city, and returned joy for a city that was nearly destroyed. Everyone bought into the feel good story, or at least liked seeing J.J. Watt’s happy Instagram stories. But only a few years later, that world series win is under scrutiny, and the Astros are almost universally hated everywhere besides Houston.
Following the end of the most recent MLB season, former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers told journalists for The Athletic that the Astros had engaged in using technology to steal signs from opposing teams. Sign stealing in baseball refers to the practice of observing the signals sent between the catchers and pitchers, and then relaying them to the players so that they are aware of what pitch is coming up next. This practice is not inherently against the rules of baseball, and is often considered by some to be unsportsmanlike, even though it happens fairly often. The problem with the Astros sign stealing is that it is illegal in the MLB to use electronic devices to steal signs during a game. Fiers told The Athletic that the Astros had placed a camera in center field and pointed it directly at the catcher. This feed was relayed to a laptop in the tunnel behind the dugout, where an employee sat and relayed the kind of upcoming pitch to the batter via banging on a trashcan. Two bangs for an off speed pitch, nothing for a fastball. In the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, José Altuve had a .472 batting average and 6 home runs at home games, while hitting .143 and 1 home run on the road. Carlos Correa similarly had a .371 batting average at home, and a .211 average on the road. In a series that went to seven games, every advantage matters.
When the MLB launched an investigation following Fiers’ interview, there wasn’t much they could do in order to defend themselves. The signals were obvious and on camera, and this was only confirming suspicions many teams had held for many seasons now. It seemed like the best thing to do was own up to cheating, apologize and accept whatever punishment the MLB would deal out for such obvious cheating.
Instead, the Astros lost some pocket change, draft picks and their coach for a season. They did not lose their World Series title. The Astros’ response was as confusing as it was unapologetic, both owning up to it and denying the claims in the same interview. Justin Verlander even made a joke about it in his Cy Young Award acceptance speech.
Compared to some past punishments to cheating baseball players, the Astros were basically handed a get out of jail free card. Yet seemingly no one in the organization was able to grasp this idea. None of them have come out against sign stealing, no official apology has been given and they still seem to keep talking. Someone in the front office even said he feels no need to reach out to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team they beat in the World Series.
It’s really amazing how the Astros have made everyone who follows or plays professional baseball upset. Their response to everything since the investigation began has been a complete misfire. It’s almost like they didn’t know what was coming up next. Maybe someone should’ve banged on a trash can for them.