The Astros scandal: We are all wrong.
I am trying to wrap my head around the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal. More specifically the punishment and the fallout.
The only thing I know for sure is everyone's actions are wrong, and all of our opinions are wrong. I'm wrong, you're wrong, radio and television personalities are wrong, everyone associated with MLB is wrong, Big Bob down the streat is definitely wrong.
The only thing I know for sure is everyone's actions are wrong, and all of our opinions are wrong. I'm wrong, you're wrong, radio and television personalities are wrong, everyone associated with MLB is wrong, Big Bob down the streat is definitely wrong.
I'm going to breaze over a lot in this middle section. For verification or context all you have to do is type "Astros" into any search engine.
So what happened?
Just in case this is somehow the only form of media you ingest, let me set the stage.
The Houston Astros were accused of, and ultimately found guilty of, an elaborate sign stealing scheme.
Sign stealing has been a common occurrence in baseball for a very, very long time. Simply put, this would usually be accomplish by a batter reaching second base. He would then watch the signs the catcher was giving the pitcher, and an attempt to communicate what pitch would be thrown, would be signaled to the man at bat. In this instance it is just a part of the sport. Where things divert here, is that this was an electronic sign stealing scheme, Involving more than just players.
This is an important distinction. Video cameras were used to capture the catchers signs. Then they were dismantled by people in a video review room, and ultimately relayed to the dugout. From there players and coaches could communicate the exact pitch a pitcher was going to throw to the man at bat.
The methods they used to communicate were numerous. The most used method was a phone call to the dugout, followed by beating on a trash can. Yep... Landlines and ameteur drumming. There are allegations that it went as far as players having a device hidden under their jersey that would alert them to the sign. No matter how they pulled it off, this is clearly way beyond the bounds of players involved in the game, stealing signs that they can only see, through the product of their skill.
Worst of all, the Boston Red Sox had been caught engaging in an attempt (allegedly) to use electronics to steal signs before this. The entire league was warned that this would not be tolerated.
Did I mention this happened in 2017, the year the Astros won the World Series? Probably should have lead with that.
The Astros
It should come as no surprise that the Astros didn't admit to their wrongdoing when a former member of the team blew the whistle.
Major League Baseball launched an investigation, as a governing body would in such a scenario. To the Astros credit the organisation complied with all request made by the investigation. Players did as well, however it would appear that this came about as a result of the commissioner of Major League Baseball giving them all immunity from punishment.
Where the Astros ownership and player went really wrong was in their press conference last week. They held a press conference that felt so rehearsed it almost felt like fiction. Wait... I'm fairly sure a lot of it was fiction. Regardless it felt like everyone involved had been told to say certain things, and to avoid saying certain things. The end result was a lot of contradictory statements and an all around awkward vibe.
That's bad enough. Whats worse is that they just wont shut up. Since the press conference, players have been talking, a lot. The great deal of it is running back what they said the day before. They are staring at the drain, and choosing to circle it.
The League
MLB punished the Astros pretty severely. They were fined five million dollars, not a lot for a major league ball club, but it is the most allowed under the MLB's constitution. Manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were both suspended one year. Both were eventually fired by the Astros. They also forfeit their first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021.
These are pretty hefty punishments. Lacking though, is what I think everyone expected. Player suspensions, and a vacated World Series title.
Worse yet, Commissioner Rob Manfred sat down for a discussion about the punishment. If the Astros are circling the drain, Manfred is Pennywise, encouraging them to slide on in. The initial conversation was a little confusing. His reaction to player and fans reaction to the interview. Downright baffling. To say he exasperated the situation would be a massive understatement.
He had to hold a press conference in which he apologized for devaluing the Commissioners trophy. That's the one you get for winning the WORLD SERIES! You know, the ultimate goal for every team and player to ever play Major League Baseball. He basically went full Beauty and the Beast and got on his knees to apologize to a "piece of metal".
Players
MLB players throughout the league have come out to denounce the league's "soft penalties". They want the players involved punished as well. Suspensions, fines, a vacated World Series title. They feel cheated. Cheated out of awards, cheated out of games, cheated out of playoff series, and ultimately the Los Angeles Dodgers feel cheated out of the World Series title.
I get it boys. But the commissioner gave them immunity. He says he had to if he were going to get the information necessary to hand out any punishment. I am inclined to believe this is the truth.
Why we are all wrong
The right thing for everyone involved is impossible. There is nothing that can be done to change what happened and nothing to be done to make things right. This is the reality of the situation. We can't replay the 2017 season. In reality we can't even know that the Astros wouldn't have won it all without cheating.
We could vacate the title, but why? No one else gets the title. All we get is a year of baseball that culminated in nothing. The Astros and their fans will still feel like they won the World Series. Everyone they eliminated to do so will still feel cheated. It fixes nothing. The proverbial asterisk is already solidly in place. Whether the league chooses to put it in official documents means nothing.
The players involved can't be suspended. I have already gotten into this. I likely wouldn't be writing about this, nor would it be talked about on every sports program currently in existence, if the players wouldn't have talked. Almost the entire report the investigation released relies on player statements. No immunity, means no report, means no punishment at all. The MLB tied their hands. A necessary evil in this case.
Beyond that, what are we left with what happens if they were to suspend every player involved? A large number of them are still signed to deals with the Astros. It would castrate them for fifty games, one hundred, whatever the punishment would be. In a way this would be justice. But fans would lose out on watching some of the best players in the game for a significant portion of the season.
What about the players who have moved on from the Astros? They would have to be punished as well. In many cases these players are integral to the teams they currently play for. It would serve nothing but to punish a team, its players, and a fan base that had nothing to do with the Astros cheating. This would be unequivocally unfair to these teams.
The reactions of players not involved is particularly concerning. It's not so much the criticism of the league that bothers me. I understand their frustration. It is unjust that the guys who participated get to carry on as if they did nothing wrong.
What bothers me is the lack of understanding and honest self awareness. I can't speak for any of these guys. I don't know them, I'm not in the sport. But I would put my life on the fact that the majority of them would have participated in the sign stealing scheme had they been in the same position. It's just human nature. When we have an opportunity to get an edge we almost always take it. When we know we can get away with driving five over the speed limit we do it. Every single one of us has done something we knew was technically wrong. In an environment where winning is all that matters, the temptation to do so is only that much greater.
Astros fans can make lame excuses like "everybody cheats". They aren't wrong. But the Astros got caught. Accept it and move on. Everyone else has the right to be upset. We have all been bamboozled. Justice has not been served. The punishment does not fit the crime. But it's all we are going to get. Accept it and move on.
Here is the rub. If appropriate justice had been served, whatever that looks like, it would hurt other teams as well as the upcoming season. Innocent players and fans alike would have been cheated again. Or in the case of title vacation, a token gesture at best that solves nothing. That's why we are all wrong. We can all have our own opinions. We can have legitimate arguments to support them. But in the end innocent entities are harmed and no one wins in any meaningful way. Egos and emotions may be satiated. But that's it.
As much as I wish we could all move on. As much as I wish I could watch opening day without hearing about this. I know it's simply not realistic. The only thing I hope for is that we all just take a step back, and think long and hard about how little our own opinions mean. The circumstances are what they are. They aren't going to change. They can't change.
Yes I know, this is an opinion piece. I am wrong too. We all are.
So what happened?
Just in case this is somehow the only form of media you ingest, let me set the stage.
The Houston Astros were accused of, and ultimately found guilty of, an elaborate sign stealing scheme.
Sign stealing has been a common occurrence in baseball for a very, very long time. Simply put, this would usually be accomplish by a batter reaching second base. He would then watch the signs the catcher was giving the pitcher, and an attempt to communicate what pitch would be thrown, would be signaled to the man at bat. In this instance it is just a part of the sport. Where things divert here, is that this was an electronic sign stealing scheme, Involving more than just players.
This is an important distinction. Video cameras were used to capture the catchers signs. Then they were dismantled by people in a video review room, and ultimately relayed to the dugout. From there players and coaches could communicate the exact pitch a pitcher was going to throw to the man at bat.
The methods they used to communicate were numerous. The most used method was a phone call to the dugout, followed by beating on a trash can. Yep... Landlines and ameteur drumming. There are allegations that it went as far as players having a device hidden under their jersey that would alert them to the sign. No matter how they pulled it off, this is clearly way beyond the bounds of players involved in the game, stealing signs that they can only see, through the product of their skill.
Worst of all, the Boston Red Sox had been caught engaging in an attempt (allegedly) to use electronics to steal signs before this. The entire league was warned that this would not be tolerated.
Did I mention this happened in 2017, the year the Astros won the World Series? Probably should have lead with that.
The Astros
It should come as no surprise that the Astros didn't admit to their wrongdoing when a former member of the team blew the whistle.
Major League Baseball launched an investigation, as a governing body would in such a scenario. To the Astros credit the organisation complied with all request made by the investigation. Players did as well, however it would appear that this came about as a result of the commissioner of Major League Baseball giving them all immunity from punishment.
Where the Astros ownership and player went really wrong was in their press conference last week. They held a press conference that felt so rehearsed it almost felt like fiction. Wait... I'm fairly sure a lot of it was fiction. Regardless it felt like everyone involved had been told to say certain things, and to avoid saying certain things. The end result was a lot of contradictory statements and an all around awkward vibe.
That's bad enough. Whats worse is that they just wont shut up. Since the press conference, players have been talking, a lot. The great deal of it is running back what they said the day before. They are staring at the drain, and choosing to circle it.
The League
MLB punished the Astros pretty severely. They were fined five million dollars, not a lot for a major league ball club, but it is the most allowed under the MLB's constitution. Manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were both suspended one year. Both were eventually fired by the Astros. They also forfeit their first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021.
These are pretty hefty punishments. Lacking though, is what I think everyone expected. Player suspensions, and a vacated World Series title.
Worse yet, Commissioner Rob Manfred sat down for a discussion about the punishment. If the Astros are circling the drain, Manfred is Pennywise, encouraging them to slide on in. The initial conversation was a little confusing. His reaction to player and fans reaction to the interview. Downright baffling. To say he exasperated the situation would be a massive understatement.
He had to hold a press conference in which he apologized for devaluing the Commissioners trophy. That's the one you get for winning the WORLD SERIES! You know, the ultimate goal for every team and player to ever play Major League Baseball. He basically went full Beauty and the Beast and got on his knees to apologize to a "piece of metal".
Players
MLB players throughout the league have come out to denounce the league's "soft penalties". They want the players involved punished as well. Suspensions, fines, a vacated World Series title. They feel cheated. Cheated out of awards, cheated out of games, cheated out of playoff series, and ultimately the Los Angeles Dodgers feel cheated out of the World Series title.
I get it boys. But the commissioner gave them immunity. He says he had to if he were going to get the information necessary to hand out any punishment. I am inclined to believe this is the truth.
Why we are all wrong
The right thing for everyone involved is impossible. There is nothing that can be done to change what happened and nothing to be done to make things right. This is the reality of the situation. We can't replay the 2017 season. In reality we can't even know that the Astros wouldn't have won it all without cheating.
We could vacate the title, but why? No one else gets the title. All we get is a year of baseball that culminated in nothing. The Astros and their fans will still feel like they won the World Series. Everyone they eliminated to do so will still feel cheated. It fixes nothing. The proverbial asterisk is already solidly in place. Whether the league chooses to put it in official documents means nothing.
The players involved can't be suspended. I have already gotten into this. I likely wouldn't be writing about this, nor would it be talked about on every sports program currently in existence, if the players wouldn't have talked. Almost the entire report the investigation released relies on player statements. No immunity, means no report, means no punishment at all. The MLB tied their hands. A necessary evil in this case.
Beyond that, what are we left with what happens if they were to suspend every player involved? A large number of them are still signed to deals with the Astros. It would castrate them for fifty games, one hundred, whatever the punishment would be. In a way this would be justice. But fans would lose out on watching some of the best players in the game for a significant portion of the season.
What about the players who have moved on from the Astros? They would have to be punished as well. In many cases these players are integral to the teams they currently play for. It would serve nothing but to punish a team, its players, and a fan base that had nothing to do with the Astros cheating. This would be unequivocally unfair to these teams.
The reactions of players not involved is particularly concerning. It's not so much the criticism of the league that bothers me. I understand their frustration. It is unjust that the guys who participated get to carry on as if they did nothing wrong.
What bothers me is the lack of understanding and honest self awareness. I can't speak for any of these guys. I don't know them, I'm not in the sport. But I would put my life on the fact that the majority of them would have participated in the sign stealing scheme had they been in the same position. It's just human nature. When we have an opportunity to get an edge we almost always take it. When we know we can get away with driving five over the speed limit we do it. Every single one of us has done something we knew was technically wrong. In an environment where winning is all that matters, the temptation to do so is only that much greater.
Astros fans can make lame excuses like "everybody cheats". They aren't wrong. But the Astros got caught. Accept it and move on. Everyone else has the right to be upset. We have all been bamboozled. Justice has not been served. The punishment does not fit the crime. But it's all we are going to get. Accept it and move on.
Here is the rub. If appropriate justice had been served, whatever that looks like, it would hurt other teams as well as the upcoming season. Innocent players and fans alike would have been cheated again. Or in the case of title vacation, a token gesture at best that solves nothing. That's why we are all wrong. We can all have our own opinions. We can have legitimate arguments to support them. But in the end innocent entities are harmed and no one wins in any meaningful way. Egos and emotions may be satiated. But that's it.
As much as I wish we could all move on. As much as I wish I could watch opening day without hearing about this. I know it's simply not realistic. The only thing I hope for is that we all just take a step back, and think long and hard about how little our own opinions mean. The circumstances are what they are. They aren't going to change. They can't change.
Yes I know, this is an opinion piece. I am wrong too. We all are.
Ok, so you know I'm a HUGE Astros fan, was in Htown for that glorious 2017 World Series and the celebration that ensued, but this was a really well written article. Obviously I don't agree with some of your points, but you covered all the points, all the opinions, all the options, etc. Very well done. Can't wait to read more ❤️
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