Houston Astros Sign Stealing

Back in 2017 the Houston Astros won the world series, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 4-3 series lead. The Astros did surprisingly well at home during divisional titles and the world series. Many fans assumed that this was a simple case of home field advantage. But Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic thought differently. These two men published an article in November of 2019 that would shake the entire MLB and possibly start a new era of baseball. The two men uncovered the truth about the Astros performances at home stating that they were electronically stealing signs from the catcher. This article did what it was intended to do. It woke up the MLB and baseball fans around the world. The media had a field day, since this was arguably the biggest scandal to ever be seen by the league. For weeks you could not get on ESPN, tune into SportsCenter, or even look at your local news without hearing about this scandal. Throughout these last couple of months, jobs were lost, rules were changed, and apologizes were given. But was it enough? Did the MLB and the Astros truly do enough? Who is to blame here? And moving forward how does the league change to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again?

Let’s talk about the apologies. I will simply state it. They were pathetic. The team had a meeting before-hand and the media trainer told them what they should and should not say. It was scripted, rehearsed, and people noticed. This wasn’t enough for the fans or the media, so we asked for more; more authentic apologies. So, the team threw a few really’s and “I am truly and deeply's" in there to make it seem more…authentic. We continued to ask, and they continued to give us the same apology just in a different form. The “I’m honestly not sorry I did it, I’m just sorry I got caught”. And honestly, I felt sorry for them. I felt sorry that they had absolutely no remorse about what they had done two years ago. These are grown men, who have children, and families. These are the men that parents take their kids out to see. These are the men that little boys look up to, collect their cards, and cherish a signed ball forever from. But yet, you can’t make a sincere apology? It’s pathetic. I didn’t do it and I can make a sincerer apology than that. But, because you have all decided to cheat your way into a ring, I get it. Because, through this scandal I have learned just a few things: none of you have integrity, none of you care about the well-being of your peers around you, and all of you are selfish.

Despite the awe-inspiring apologies, Americans still need someone to blame. Personally, I don’t think this issue is all the Astros fault. I don’t think they deserve all of the criticism and shame that the American people have given them. This scandal has many characters to the story and all of them are at fault in some way, form, or fashion. First, we have the players and coaches for the Astros. I mean there really doesn't need to be an explanation for this, the entire scandal is based around these people. Next, we have the GM for the Astros. This man is just beyond me, how does no one in this franchise think that this was wrong? Is it a part of interviews or meetings with players? Like is that their deal breaker, end of the interview question, “Oh yes, one more thing before we let you go about your day, are you okay with cheating your way to the top?” But is it truly considered cheating? The MLB handbook says NOTHING about sign stealing. Not one thing. The rule was an unspoken rule. And because of this, this scandal is partially the leagues fault. They neglected the fact that they did not have specific rules about cheating out a defense and their structure. People will always take a mile when given an inch and that is what this team and others have done. This is embarrassing to the league. So much so they had a press briefing with the commissioner, and when you thought this couldn’t get any worse. IT. DID. This man stood up and referred to the World Series trophy as, “a piece of metal”. Get this man out of here. Get him out. This is what everyone in the league works for. But as the commissioner of a league who has done a lousy job at making clear rules, he stands up there and tries to belittle the most precious thing in baseball to make himself look a little less at fault. So really I think you could pick who to blame out of the hat and I would probably agree with you, because in this story there is no right.

Even though this has shaken and changed the way people view the MLB, we must move forward. The league desperately needs to work on changing and drawing much clearer lines on their rules. Sports are not political, and baseball is the least political sport there is. But with that being said we are not playing the same game that was played in the 80’s. Things must change and get stricter. Does it put a damper on the sport? Yes. But it is time. Also, I think the men of the scandal should be penalized. How? I don’t know that answer, but I do know that if the MLB doesn’t do something about it, the players and the fans of other teams will.

This scandal is one of many in the MLB. However, this is uncharted territory for the league and I am interested to watch this upcoming season and see how the league and the Astros start making a new path and start making sense of all of this. In the meantime, Go Braves.