Truth, Be Told
by Simon Lehrer
“Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.” -Yogi Berra
MIAMI, FL. (2/16/20) –– The storm rages on. More details continue to emerge in the Houston Astros cheating scandal, and on Sunday, Robert Manfred had the spotlight.
In two separate media appearances, MLB’s commissioner defended the league’s investigation and subsequent punishment of Houston. In trying to weather the storm, Manfred did quite the opposite – offering up new details about the investigation, developments which are certain to irritate many of Major League Baseball’s own employees.
Manfred has been under fire ever since MLB released its report, and his media availability on Sunday evening was the first time a pool of journalists had the opportunity to ask any hard-hitting questions. Below are three crucial quotes from Manfred’s session:
1.“It is rare you have punishment you will live with for the rest of your life.”
A primary goal of MLB’s investigation was to deter any team from cheating in the future, and Commissioner Manfred believes that public perception of Houston’s 2017 title is enough of a punishment. It’s tough to find anyone outside of the Astros players who would agree.
Kids are taught from an early age to respect their opponents and play the game the right way. Yet when a team cheats to win the sport’s biggest prize, their punishment comes in the form of perception? Whether you agree with it or not, Houston still rightfully owns that World Series trophy, along with the rings and bonus money. This sends a message from baseball’s highest power that cheating might not be the right thing to do, but certainly might be worth it.
2. “I understand when people say the players should’ve been punished...if I was in a world where I could have found all the facts without granting immunity, I would have done that.”
Much of the outrage over this scandal has surrounded MLB’s decision not to suspend any players for breaking the rules. Now that seemingly all of the details have come to light, Commissioner Manfred is admitting that their transgressions are worthy of suspension.
The slight issue, of course, is that promise of immunity in exchange for truthful testimony. Major League Baseball can not legally go back on their word and suspend Astros players without pay for even a single game in 2020. This promise would only be void if MLB finds out after the fact that players lied during the investigation.
3. “It was hard for me to figure out why they would be truthful and admit they did the wrong thing in ‘17, admit they did the wrong thing in ‘18, and then lie about what was going on in ‘19.”
Commissioner Manfred’s spoke to ESPN in a sit-down interview on Sunday morning, hours before his press conference. The interview lasted 45 minutes, and discussion surrounded mostly on the fallout of his decision not to suspend players. But one question stood out: ESPN’s Karl Ravech asked about the depth of MLB’s investigation into Astros players cheating in 2019. Specifically, he wanted to know if the league had investigated any use of buzzers.
The most viewed video on MLB’s YouTube page is titled: “Jose Altuve’s walk-off HR sends Astros to the World Series.” That home run clinched an American League pennant, eliminated the New York Yankees, and captivated the sports world. It was one of the premiere moments in Major League Baseball last season.
Manfred immediately brought up “a video” which led to the buzzer rumor, without specifying its contents. That video was a part of Major League Baseball’s investigation, and was even referenced to Astros players in their interviews. Denials across the board.
Here is part of Commissioner Manfred’s quote:
“Where I came down on it, the players were candid about 2017 and the fact they violated the rules in 2017. They were candid, chapter and verse, consistent about the fact that the rules were violated in 2018, and they were equally consistent and everybody, every single witness in the denials about this buzzer allegation. I think in my own mind, it was hard for me to figure out why they would tell us, given that they were immune, why they would be truthful, admit they did the wrong thing in ’17, admit they did the wrong thing in ’18, and then lie about what was going on in ‘19. Now, can I tell you I am 100 percent sure about that? You are never 100 percent sure about these things. But that was my best judgement.”
That video blew up on YouTube for a reason. MLB’s most popular clip from 2019 would be compelling evidence in a courtroom. Jose Altuve grabs his jersey and implores teammates not to rip it off, while celebrating the biggest home run of his life. He then darts into the clubhouse and out of sight, changing privately into an American League Champions shirt, while every other Astros player changed on the field.
Opposing pitcher Aroldis Chapman called Altuve’s actions “suspicious”. Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant told reporters he firmly believes the Astros used a buzzer system in 2019. Mike Trout said that you could rip every piece off his clothing off after hitting a walk-off home run. Altuve himself, possibly wary of future legal action, has never firmly denied using a buzzer. He has been asked about the allegation twice since the commissioner’s report was released –– once at Astros FanFest, once at the Astros cheating mea culpa last week. Both times he referred to the report, stating that Major League Baseball did their investigation and didn’t find anything. Neither time did he give the simple, one-word answer that should suffice.
Why didn’t Jose Altuve want his jersey ripped off? Maybe he really didn’t want us to see a half-finished tattoo. Maybe he really is shy. There’s certainly good reason to believe that Jose Altuve, as one of the game’s best hitters, simply won the mind game between pitcher and batter, decided a slider was probably coming, and promptly sent Houston to the World Series off pure talent. All of the above are entirely possible.
Regardless, Commissioner Manfred has a hard time picturing why the Astros would tell the truth about 2017 and 2018, then lie about 2019.
Here are two undeniable facts.
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Houston reached the World Series in 2017 and 2019. A former member of the team explained in detail how the team cheated in 2017. Between Mike Fiers’ on-the-record statements and the clear video evidence to back up the accusation, nobody involved could credibly deny what happened the first time.
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Jose Altuve’s home run was a mega moment on a mega stage. It put Houston in the World Series, and the Astros undoubtedly won that game as a result of Altuve’s at bat. The pennant-clinching home run will forever be attached, front and center, to not only Altuve’s own legacy, but that of the 2019 American League Champions.
It is easy to see why the Astros would collectively lie about this, if the rumor were true. Any alleged buzzer system is far more high-tech than banging on garbage cans, or whistling. Even with a promise of immunity, admissions to any sort of buzzer use would damage the Astros reputation beyond repair.
If anyone from the Astros confirmed those allegations, it would set off a chain reaction of legal problems that would keep this story alive for years, even decades. Jose Altuve would be reporting to courtrooms instead of Spring Training.
Former MLB pitcher Mike Bolsinger is already suing the Astros for unfair business practices, negligence, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Throw buzzers into the equation and this storm would last for years. Bettors, fellow players, even other organizations in Major League Baseball would have legitimate grounds to sue the Astros for much greater damages than the $31 million Mike Bolsinger is seeking.
Within hours of Altuve’s walk-off, members of the Washington Nationals were getting messages from other MLB players alerting them that the Houston Astros had been stealing signs, particularly at home, and would likely continue to do so in the 2019 World Series. The Nationals responded by changing up their signs, creating a system of deception which clearly worked –– the Astros lost all four home games in the World Series.
Earlier in the playoffs, Houston had a tough time shutting down the Tampa Bay Rays. The first two division series games went to the Astros at home, but Tampa Bay took Games 3 and 4. In the fifth and pivotal game at Minute Maid Park, Rays ace Tyler Glasnow got torn to pieces, immediately giving up four runs to start the game. Afterwards, a panel of former MLB players broke down the game on FOX. Months before anything was publicized about the Astros stealing signs in 2017, here was that panel’s reaction to ALDS Game 5, in October 2019:
“When a guy is so good like Tyler Glasnow, human beings are not supposed to take pitches, or hit pitches, the way he was throwing them...my eyes tell me 100 percent, well 99 percent, that they had the pitches.” –Alex Rodriguez
“This is a great ballclub, and they use everything possible...the bottom line is they got a lot of information, and they got great talent that can use it in an effective way.” –Hall of Famer Frank Thomas
Both baseball savants were sure, having just watched the game, that Houston had the other team’s signs. Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is claiming that Houston won in 2019 by “straight up players with talent playing the game of baseball”. Do you believe him?
Most of Major League Baseball’s own employees think that the Houston Astros continued to cheat in 2019. All-Stars like Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, Trevor Bauer, Mike Trout, and Aroldis Chapman have each expressed that opinion within the last week, and more will surely follow.
Commissioner Manfred needs to figure out what’s truly important for baseball –– saving face or doing the right thing. So far, he is failing at both. The storm rages on...
IMMORALITY AND IMMORTALITY
BASEBALL'S LATEST, GREATEST WAY TO CHEAT THE SYSTEM
by Simon Lehrer
MIAMI, FL. (1/26/20) –– The Los Angeles Dodgers held their annual FanFest on Saturday, bringing together fans, players, and management alike on a chilly January day in Chavez Ravine. Thousands gather in the Dodger Stadium parking lot for one day each winter, usually a few weeks before the start of Spring Training.
This Dodger team has been one of the best in Major League Baseball over the last three years. Following two 100-win seasons and two World Series appearances, the Dodgers are returning virtually every player who has made them such a juggernaut for the past few seasons – including young, homegrown stars like Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger, alongside veteran stars such as Clayton Kershaw and Justin Turner. The team reports to Glendale, Arizona on February 13th, and their future could not be brighter. But on the first day of Spring Training, much like Saturday’s FanFest, every Dodger player will be forced to relive the past.
On that same day, February 13th, more than 2000 miles away in Palm Beach, Florida, the Houston Astros will hold their first team workout. Houston is absolutely stacked. They won 107 games in 2019, the most in franchise history, marking the Astros’ third straight season with 100 or more wins. No other team has done that in the 21st century. This Astros team has seen unprecedented success these last few years, highlighted by a World Series title in 2017 over the Dodgers. Other than losing pitcher Gerrit Cole to New York, Houston is returning all their core players from the past few years. Yet when the Astros report to Spring Training in a couple weeks, all eyes and ears will be focused on the past.
Two weeks ago, Major League Baseball released a short but searing report detailing how the Houston Astros cheated their way to a championship in 2017. The Astros installed a camera inside Minute Maid Park just before that season, which hung just over the center field fence and could zoom in on the other team’s catcher. According to Commissioner Manfred, that camera was used to live stream the opposing catcher’s signs straight into the Astros clubhouse. Houston players were easily able to decode those signs within the first inning of any given game. Once they had the signs, Astros players would bang a trash can to alert each hitter exactly what pitch was coming. It was a dangerous method, but the ambient noise in Minute Maid Park allowed for the dugout to communicate, at least somewhat discreetly, with whoever was at the plate.
The franchise’s first ever World Series title is now indisputably tainted, and we are just getting started with the fallout. First came the Astros’ two most important leaders – manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow – who were each suspended through the 2020 season, and both quickly fired by the Astros owner. Yet Hinch apparently tried to stop the scheme multiple times, and Luhnow claims he knew nothing about it.
A crucial line in Major League Baseball’s report: “the 2017 scheme in which players banged on a trash can was, with the exception of [bench coach] Alex Cora, player-driven and player-executed.”
Those two words, player-driven, hold essentially every member of the Astros 2017 roster accountable. However, the people who got suspended were not players, and have adamantly denied any involvement in the scheme. Former Houston bench coach Alex Cora is awaiting his punishment, as MLB continues to investigate the Boston Red Sox. Boston is also under fire for illegally stealing signs through video technology. Cora took over the Red Sox as manager in 2018, and almost instantly implemented a similar system to the one in Houston. That year, Boston won the World Series.
To recap – the 2017 World Champions used a complex and highly illegal system, which boosted every individual player’s offensive numbers and helped propel Houston to a title. The 2018 World Champions used a slightly less complex, still illegal system, which resulted in a Boston Red Sox title aided by cheating. The common denominator, besides breaking the rules, happens to be the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both those World Series came at the Dodgers expense.
Major League Baseball released its report on Monday, January 13th. Throughout the ensuing week, players slowly but surely started speaking out, despite being advised not to do so by the Commissioner. Some of the game’s best pitchers used social media to explain the gravity of this situation to fans.
In the words of some prominent Major Leaguers via Twitter, here’s why Houston’s system was virtually unbeatable:
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“Sh*t makes sense now. I remember wondering how these guys were laying off some of my nasty pitchers. Relaying all my signs in live speed to the batter. Ruining the integrity of the game.” – Former Toronto Blue Jays ace pitcher Marcus Stroman. In one start at Minute Maid Park in 2017, Stroman allowed a season-high 11 hits. The Astros won 7-6.
"Which one is worse, stealing signs electronically, taking steroids or betting on baseball? All three are bad. But at least what I did never had anything to do with the outcome of the game." – 17x All-Star Pete Rose, who gambled on his own team while managing the Cincinnati Reds, and was subsequently banned from baseball’s Hall of Fame.
“I’d like my career numbers against Altuve, Springer, and Correa erased from the record books.” –Phil Hughes, former MLB pitcher. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was named Most Valuable Player in 2017, hitting for a career-high .346 batting average. That same season, Altuve knew what pitch was coming in every home game – including the playoffs, where he hit for a mind-boggling .472 average.
“I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.” – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood.
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Interesting thing for Wood to say, of all people. The Astros lost one game at Minute Maid Park in the 2017 postseason – World Series Game 4. Alex Wood started that game, and developed a complex system with his catcher to fool Houston’s hitters into thinking they were getting a certain pitch. Wood allowed just one hit in five innings. The Astros supposedly “elite” batters were all stumped.
One night after the best offense in baseball went quiet against the Dodgers number four starter, future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw got shelled while using his regular signs. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reflected on the 2017 series, and its repercussions, at FanFest on Saturday.
“It’s really frustrating,” he said, during a team-wide media availability session. “You look at what could have happened, but for me it really goes out to some of the unfair criticism that guys like Clayton took, Yu [Darvish], and Kenley [Jansen].”
Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, also chimed in: “For the last three-plus years, I’ve heard the rumors. Obviously this just added to the frustration, disappointment, and part of [our frustration] is there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The frustration stemming from this scandal is circling around baseball like a hawk. Nobody feels it stronger than the Dodgers, but everyone is frustrated, and for all types of reasons. The Atlanta Braves held their FanFest this weekend too, and Freddie Freeman told a troubling story about former Brave Kris Medlen.
Medlen was one of the game’s best pitchers at one point. The left-hander posted a 10-1 record paired with a 1.57 ERA in 2012, but injuries wound up derailing his promising career. In 2018, the left-hander had already been sidelined for two full seasons, and was beginning a comeback with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
One of Medlen’s first appearances back in the Majors came at Minute Maid Park, against the Houston Astros. Freeman described how excited his former teammate was making it back to the big leagues. Medlen allowed nine hits and seven runs in that Houston start, and met with his team shortly after. It was the last start of Kris Medlen’s career – he retired within a week.
The Astros system resulted in plenty of career-altering moments, including every player on Houston's roster in 2017. They are all now considered champions, and virtually nobody in the baseball world believes that Houston stopped their sign-stealing practices after winning a title. Take the Astros win totals from the past six seasons:
2014 – 70
2015 – 86
2016 – 84
2017 – 101 (World Series Champs)
2018 – 103 (lost to Red Sox in ALCS)
2019 – 107 (AL Champs, lost to Nationals in WS)
It’s a tale of two different teams. From 2014-2016, Houston was average. From 2017-2019, they were the best team in baseball. Two reasons the Astros were able to make such a quick leap into dynasty territory:
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An incredible farm system which developed All-Stars George Springer, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman. Each of those three players debuted between 2014-2016, and turned into superstars from 2017-2019.
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In between the 2016 and 2017 season, a camera was installed in center field and a video monitor was placed inside the clubhouse, within hearing range of home plate. All-Star Jose Altuve became an MVP, above-average hitters became All-Stars, and average hitters had some of the best seasons of their careers (Yuli Gurriel, Evan Gattis, Josh Reddick, just to name a few).
“Baseball has a lot of things that get around that the public doesn’t necessarily know about, that everyone inside the game knows about,” says Trevor Bauer, who pitched against Houston in the 2018 postseason.
Bauer unloaded on the Astros in an interview with Barstool’s Pardon My Take shortly after the report was released. He alleged that select Houston hitters have been wearing buzzers under their jerseys since 2018, at the latest. Bauer publicly stated that the rumor has been floating around baseball for these last two seasons, only adding fuel to the fire. There is no clear evidence that Astros went beyond the garbage can scheme. That said, if the rumors are true, you can legitimately question whether Major League Baseball would want anyone to find out about it.
“This is a black eye for baseball, and they don’t want that coming out if they can handle it internally, handle it quietly,” Bauer proclaimed in that same interview.
Up until now, Major League Baseball did handle this quietly. Sign-stealing rumors have been flying for three years, implicating teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, and even the Dodgers. But there was never any physical evidence of cheating, at least not until a late-2017 game where the Chicago White Sox actually caught Houston in the act. White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar identified a banging sound immediately after every offspeed signal from the catcher, and the team contacted Major League Baseball about it after that game. But up until January 2020, the MLB never acknowledged the Astros’ actions.
Their hand was forced after former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers outed the scheme in an interview with the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Major League Baseball quickly began their investigation in November, and they found evidence of cheating from nearly every Astros home game throughout 2017.
There has been an alarming amount of resentment directed at Mike Fiers, who has quickly earned the label of ‘whistleblower’ and even ‘snitch’ around baseball. Much of that negativity stems from the fact that Fiers benefitted from this cheating system at the time, didn’t bother to speak up for years, and now decided to do so while playing for a rival team, the Oakland Athletics. The backlash has been staggering.
“Whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse,” Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez said at the Red Sox own FanFest, held last week. “Fiers broke the rules. To go and do it after you leave the Houston Astros because they don’t have you anymore, that doesn’t show me anything. You’re just a bad teammate.”
Dallas Keuchel was another pitcher who benefitted from the Astros scheme. Keuchel won a ring with Houston in 2017, and was signed by the Chicago White Sox this offseason. All these FanFest media sessions are prompting players to publicly react, including one in Chicago this weekend where Keuchel became the first member of that 2017 team to apologize. However, when Mike Fiers’ name was brought up, Keuchel immediately scowled and seemed unhappy with his former teammate’s actions. He called it a tough subject, and echoed the sentiment that Fiers broke a clubhouse rule.
Former Dodgers third baseman David Freese tweeted out an interesting perspective, yet again showing displeasure with Mike Fiers for telling the truth: “Good for MLB stepping up. Still don’t know what’s more frustrating tho, an ex teammate of the WS title team talking publicly about his team cheating or so many guys being down to use a damn trash can lol. Should take the ring.”
Freese has been around for a long time. He won the World Series in 2011 with St. Louis, and certainly knows a thing or two about the dynamic inside a baseball clubhouse. He is well-respected throughout the game, and several players lauded his tweet criticizing Fiers.
Even though he should have spoken out earlier, Mike Fiers did the right thing. There is a black cloud around the sport right now, but baseball will eventually be in a better place because of Fiers. Major League Baseball can not afford any more illegitimate champions.
Sadly, there might be more to come. The 2017 Houston Astros ultimately got away with it. Maybe Hinch and Luhnow won't be around anymore, but the World Series trophy will remain inside Minute Maid Park. That banner will keep hanging in the rafters. Every player will keep their ring. Major League Baseball's punishment was supposed to serve as a deterrent, but instead, players around the league see it as validation for the lengths Houston went to win a championship.
At FanFest on Saturday, Justin Turner explained the Dodgers' reaction to MLB's report: "We know how hard it is to win a World Series, getting there back to back years and not being successful. With the Commissioner’s report and the evidence, it’s hard to feel like they earned it, and earned the right to be called champions. I think that’s something everyone in this game holds pretty highly, to be called a champion."
If the Astros could go back three years and do it all over again, they would absolutely make the same choices. Not a single player was suspended a single game, for devising a player-driven system to cheat – a system that worked to perfection. And most importantly, they will forever be considered champions. Even after getting caught, make no mistake, the Houston Astros got away with it. Makes you wonder who’s going to cheat next.