The Houston Astros have received incredibly harsh penalties for sign stealing. On Monday, in an unprecedented decision by Major League Baseball, the Astros penalties were simply massive and included the one year suspensions of manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. As a result, the Astros fired Hinch and Luhnow.
According to CBS Sports, the Astros used technology to steal signs in the 2017 and 2018 Major League Baseball seasons. Houston had a camera in the outfield which was used to pick up the opposing catcher’s signals. Players on the bench were made aware of the results of the signals, and banged on trashcans in the dugout to alert batters of an off-speed pitch. By the way, Houston won the 2017 World Series.
The Astros were also fined $5 million, lost their first and second round draft picks in the 2020 and 2021 Major League Baseball Drafts, and had assistant general manager Brandon Taubman also suspended one year. There is a possibility that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who designed the system as bench coach of the Houston Astros in 2017, will also receive severe punishment.
It has also been reported that current Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Mike Fiers was the whistleblower. Fiers who is now playing for the Astros’ top division rival in the American League West, notified the Athletic in November. Fiers played for the Astros in 2017.
It will now be mighty interesting how Houston regroups from this scandal. Houston led Major League Baseball with 107 wins and 55 losses in 2019. This story could be considered the biggest story of negative consequence connected to a single Major League Baseball team since the Chicago Black Sox scandal of 1919.
