Houston Astros get hammered for cheating

[siberian khatru]

BREAKING: Per sources, MLB’s penalties for #Astros include:

*One-year suspensions for GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch.

*Losses of 1st and 2nd round draft picks in both 2020 and ‘21.

*A fine of $5M.

Full story and more context with @EvanDrellich: https://t.co/djvKEYFiC7

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 13, 2020

No players were disciplined by Major League Baseball in the Astros' investigation. While Mets manager Carlos Beltran was part of it, he was a player at the time and thus was not suspended.

Discipline for Red Sox manager Alex Cora is coming. It is going to be harsh, per sources.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2020

Jim Crane just fired Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2020

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by njchiefs

Frankly I think all of this is stupid. It is human nature to try to gain an advantage by uncovering a competitors secrets. It’s why the pitch signing has become more sophisticated to begin with. It’s why sideline coaches put the card over their mouths when calling in a play. How to you draw a line between being clever and cheating? The onus should be on the side trying to keep the secret to make their methods effective, rather than to rely on the integrity of the opponent. Where would we be without the ingenious code breaking in WW2? Is CIA espionage in foreign countries unethical?

You seem like an idiot.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Yes. What’s interesting is that there is no benefit to pitchers from doing this. They are the ultimate losers in all this. And with so much movement around the league from year to year eventually someone’s going to blow the whistle. In this case it was Mike Fiers I think?

So who was the mastermind behind all this? Did they ever state that? Was it Cora and Beltran??

Sounds like both. Beltran was apparently the bully. But you'd also have to assume players who might be trying to protect their ass might be throwing people under the bus. This will be an interesting one to follow, for sure.

[chiefzilla1501]

Wow, altuve is claiming he was covering his shirt because he was embarrassed about an uncompleted collarbone tattoo? Dude is lying through his teeth.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Sounds like both. Beltran was apparently the bully. But you'd also have to assume players who might be trying to protect their ass might be throwing people under the bus. This will be an interesting one to follow, for sure.

Welp. There goes Beltrans shot at the hall of fame. He had an outside shot.

[Eleazar]

They should all be banned for life. They've done irreparable harm to the game.

[Chief Roundup]

I don't follow baseball very close. I am sure there must be much more to the story. Teams and players have been stealing signs for as long as baseball has been around.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Wow, altuve is claiming he was covering his shirt because he was embarrassed about an uncompleted collarbone tattoo? Dude is lying through his teeth.

Yeah, let's see it. ****ing scumbag.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

I don't follow baseball very close. I am sure there must be much more to the story. Teams and players have been stealing signs for as long as baseball has been around.

Not using electronic methods including buzzers alerting them to pitches.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by smithandrew051

Jose Altuve 2017 Postseason Stats:

Home: 36 AB, .472 AVG, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 1.541 OPS
Away: 35 AB, .143 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .297 OPS

Holy shit. Strip the title.

Low sample. They cheated in season too, would be interested to see those splits.

I don't know enough about it, but what distinction made it so they were able to cheat only at home?

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by njchiefs

Frankly I think all of this is stupid. It is human nature to try to gain an advantage by uncovering a competitors secrets. It’s why the pitch signing has become more sophisticated to begin with. It’s why sideline coaches put the card over their mouths when calling in a play. How to you draw a line between being clever and cheating? The onus should be on the side trying to keep the secret to make their methods effective, rather than to rely on the integrity of the opponent. Where would we be without the ingenious code breaking in WW2? Is CIA espionage in foreign countries unethical?

The depth of your reerunedness is quite frankly, unbelievable. Had I known someone could be as dumb as you, but also possess the ability to form sentences I wouldn't have had children. The fact that reerunedness has evolved this much is completely terrifying.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

They should all be banned for life. They've done irreparable harm to the game.

Agreed.

Each and every member of the Astros, including their front office, should be banned for life and the owner should be expelled, much like Donald Sterling was forced to sell the Clippers.

Alex Cora and members of the Red Sox should be banned for life as well, although I believe that John Henry should "only" receive a 3 to 5 year ban, although he would not be allowed to contact the Red Sox for any reason during that time, which also may lead him to sell the team.

If teams are allowed to cheat their way to a World Series with little to no punishment handed out by Manfred, what's to stop another team from replicating or coming up with another devious plan to steal signs and cheat?

IMO, the sophistication in stealing signs was the most egregious form of cheating in major sports history. Manfred should whip out the Ban Hammer but he's too weak to make such a decision.

In the meantime, those who believe that MLB doesn't provide a level playing field due to the major discrepancy in TV revenues, which propel the biggest spenders to the playoffs year in and year out, have another reason in which to distrust Major League Baseball.

[Discuss Thrower]

Can't wait for the first player to HBP an Astros batter to get a no-warning ejection.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by njchiefs

Frankly I think all of this is stupid. It is human nature to try to gain an advantage by uncovering a competitors secrets. It’s why the pitch signing has become more sophisticated to begin with. It’s why sideline coaches put the card over their mouths when calling in a play. How to you draw a line between being clever and cheating? The onus should be on the side trying to keep the secret to make their methods effective, rather than to rely on the integrity of the opponent. Where would we be without the ingenious code breaking in WW2? Is CIA espionage in foreign countries unethical?

Im pretty sure I hate you. Cheating is pure scum when its understood everyone is playing or competing on a level playing field. Some goes for the stock market, poker, gambling, business. Cheating or the willingness to cheat is one of the biggest indicators of being a quality human being. It would be one thing if all teams were using buzzers and cheating like the astros. But they weren't

[njchiefs]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

The depth of your reerunedness is quite frankly, unbelievable. Had I known someone could be as dumb as you, but also possess the ability to form sentences I wouldn't have had children. The fact that reerunedness has evolved this much is completely terrifying.

Very eloquent. Now how about replying with some meaningful commentary. I am not refuting the fact that what the Astros did was “illegal”, but just pointing out the absurdity of the rules, ie: cheating is fine as long as it’s not done electronically. It’s all BS and baseball is a silly boys game.

[smithandrew051]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Low sample. They cheated in season too, would be interested to see those splits.

I don't know enough about it, but what distinction made it so they were able to cheat only at home?

My understanding is they were able to take advantage of hidden cameras placed in the home ballpark and had monitors that the players could see. They can’t rig something like that up in an away park.