On Monday, Commissioner Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball completed the investigation into the Houston Astros electronic sign-stealing scandal during the team’s championship season of 2017. If you haven’t read up on most of the findings, here are some of the more important pieces:
- Houston bench coach Alex Cora was reported to have orchestrated the system by arranging video room technicians to install a monitor displaying the center field camera feed just outside the Astros dugout in the tunnel. This feed was used to capture live footage of the opposing team’s catcher to obtain what pitches are being thrown during a live at-bat.
- Once captured, a player would bang a nearby trash can to communicate to the batter what pitch was incoming.
- Aside from Cora, no other members of the coaching staff were involved. It was strictly player driven and also included some non-player staff, such as individuals in the video replay room.
- Astros OF Carlos Beltran was the only player named in the report indicating that he “discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter.”
- Manager A.J. Hinch was aware of the system and on two separate occasions attempted to stop it by physically damaging the monitor being used. It continued and Hinch, although said he continued to disapprove of it, did not report it to General Manager Jeff Luhnow or any other MLB officials.
After the investigation concluded, Manfred handed down his punishments to the organization:
1- General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch to received one year suspension through the 2020 MLB season
2- Forfeit of Houston’s 1st and 2nd round picks in both the 2020 and 2021 MLB Draft (total of 4 picks)
3- $5 million dollar fine (highest allowable penalty according the MLB constitution)
And now my take:
Manfred seems to have handled this scandal to the best of his ability. When the investigation began, he specifically stated that a substantial punishment would be along the lines of suspensions, fines and loss of draft picks; all three of these occurred. Some may argue that the one year suspensions for Hinch and Luhnow were not enough and that they’d be back directly after the 2020 season. Well, shortly after the punishments were handed out, Astros owner Jim Crane did what I believe is the right thing and fired both Hinch and Luhnow. Luhnow in a statement said he did not instigate or engage the system nor was he even aware of it and that it was organized by players and lower-level employees. The report on Hinch was that he attempted to stop it but failed and then simply looked the other way. The way I see it, both men were suspended and fired not just because they are at the top of the food chain when it comes to the baseball operations department, but because they either were incompetent on what was going on in their own clubhouse or turned a blind eye to it and when asked about it they straight up lied. Both men can receive jobs in baseball again after the 2020 season, but I don’t know how many teams are going to contact them.
Many have asked why no players, including Beltran who was named, will not get any punishment. The simple answer is that players are protected under the CBA and the MLBPA. Any punishments handed down to players by Manfred would more than likely be followed by a number of appeals and grievances filed by the players union. That is what is protecting Beltran, which is why he will not be punished by the MLB. The Mets, however, do have the authority to fire Beltran if they so choose on the basis of his lying on his involvement during his managerial interviews. That is strictly an organizational decision so we can see how that plays out, but it seems Mets GM Brodie Van Waganen is going to be standing by his newly named manager.
Alex Cora seems to be the one who is going down for this, at least based on these reports. He was the only member of the coaching staff who was a part of this and was also key in the whole thing. The 2018 Boston Red Sox are currently under MLB investigation for their cheating allegations. Though it seems these allegations are not as severe as the Astros, Alex Cora remains the one common denominator between the two sides. Many expect a “harsh” penalty is incoming for Cora; one that surpasses the one year suspension Hinch and Luhnow received. Possible lifetime ban? I guess we’ll see. It’s almost inevitable that Cora will be fired as manager of the Red Sox. It may not happen until after the investigation, but it seems imminent.
As far as the 2017 World Series title, fans may call for it to be revoked. That will never happen. The championship is forever tainted, but you can’t change the past. The Houston Astros are your 2017 World Series champs* (see what I did there?)
There’s a lot more than can be said about this. We can go on and on about how this can affect Beltran’s and other players Hall of Fame candidacy or how this punishment compared the lifetime banning of the 1919 Black Sox or Pete Rose is light but I think we can stop there and let this all digest. Besides, we’ll be right back here in a few short weeks to discuss the findings and impending punishment of Cora and the Red Sox. In the meantime, what do you think? Astros getting off too light? Too harsh? Let’s discuss!
