This is bad.
On Monday Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred banned Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for one year after completion of a sign-stealing investigation. The investigation was triggered by an article written by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich in The Athletic, November 12, 2019. Manfred also docked Houston its first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 and levied a $5 million fine, the maximum allowable.Yesterday, Houston owner Jim Crane fired Luhnow and Hinch.
It is the worst scandal in baseball since the 1919 Black Sox.
Both the 1919 Black Sox and the 2017 "Astros" were player-driven schemes: Chicago "White Sox" players threw the World Series for money. Houston players used sign stealing (officially dubbed "The Banging Scheme" by tone deaf Manfred) at home during the entire 2017 season to get to, and win, the 2017 Series. The eight Black Sox players were banned for life but no Houston players, and it was the entire team who knew of the scheme, were disciplined. Further, Hinch was not the Houston manager in 2017 and tried to break the computer monitor at least twice.
Houston's sign stealing utilized the ubiquitous center field angle camera to read and decode the catchers hand signals for the next pitch and then signal the Houston batter by banging on a trash can in the walkway leading to the Houston locker room. A computer monitored by low level "Astros" employees was set on a desk in the walkway. An industrial sized plastic trash can was nearby.
When the catcher-to-pitcher signal for a change-up pitch was stolen an employee would bang on the trash can with a bat. The Houston batter would hear it and know that a changeup was coming.
The Houston organization is known for its misbehavior. With the approval of owner Jim Crane Luhnow signed closing pitcher Roberto Osuna to a contract in the summer of 2018. Osuna was then serving a 75-game suspension imposed by the commissioner's office for domestic violence. That was a bad look. During the "Astros" locker room victory celebration over the New York "Yankees" in the 2019 American League Championship Series assistant general manager Brandon Taubman...
...turned to three female reporters, one wearing a purple anti-domestic violence ribbon and yelled six times "Thank God we got Osuna! I'm so fucking glad we got Osuna!" It was right out of Donald Trump's campaign playbook. As was Houston's official response. When Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated published an account of Taubman's behavior Houston said it was all "fake news."
The story posted by Sports Illustrated is misleading and completely irresponsible. An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player during a difficult time. His comments had everything to do about the game situation that just occurred and nothing else -- they were also not directed toward any specific reporters. We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated's attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist.
That was real bad.
Five days later Crane and the "Astros" issued another statement, admitting "We were wrong.," apologizing to SI and announcing that they had told Taubman "You're Fired!" Commissioner Manfred suspended Haubman from employment in MLB for one year as part of its investigation into the "Astros."
Major League Baseball has a history of condoning misbehavior and a long-standing credibility problem. In 2019, a century after the Black Sox, umpire Trump supporter and Indiana, Pennsylvania native Rob Drake...
tweeted during the World Series between Washington and Houston appropriately enough,
I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020
Spell much?
Manfred of course announced that MLB would be "investigating."
And in 2019 Manfred admitted that a new manufacturer of baseballs had resulted in "juiced balls" in 2017 and 2018, balls that are wound so tight that they jump off the bat and result in more crowd-pleasing home runs. This, of course, came only after two seasons of player complaints and an investigation conducted by FiveThirtyEight. Twenty years earlier MLB had the scandal of juiced players. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke long-standing home run records and in 2001 Barry Bonds broke McGwire's record. All three suddenly sported unnatural-looking, over-muscled physiques. They had all been on steroids.
It is the worst scandal in baseball since the 1919 Black Sox.
Both the 1919 Black Sox and the 2017 "Astros" were player-driven schemes: Chicago "White Sox" players threw the World Series for money. Houston players used sign stealing (officially dubbed "The Banging Scheme" by tone deaf Manfred) at home during the entire 2017 season to get to, and win, the 2017 Series. The eight Black Sox players were banned for life but no Houston players, and it was the entire team who knew of the scheme, were disciplined. Further, Hinch was not the Houston manager in 2017 and tried to break the computer monitor at least twice.
Houston's sign stealing utilized the ubiquitous center field angle camera to read and decode the catchers hand signals for the next pitch and then signal the Houston batter by banging on a trash can in the walkway leading to the Houston locker room. A computer monitored by low level "Astros" employees was set on a desk in the walkway. An industrial sized plastic trash can was nearby.
When the catcher-to-pitcher signal for a change-up pitch was stolen an employee would bang on the trash can with a bat. The Houston batter would hear it and know that a changeup was coming.
The Houston organization is known for its misbehavior. With the approval of owner Jim Crane Luhnow signed closing pitcher Roberto Osuna to a contract in the summer of 2018. Osuna was then serving a 75-game suspension imposed by the commissioner's office for domestic violence. That was a bad look. During the "Astros" locker room victory celebration over the New York "Yankees" in the 2019 American League Championship Series assistant general manager Brandon Taubman...
The story posted by Sports Illustrated is misleading and completely irresponsible. An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player during a difficult time. His comments had everything to do about the game situation that just occurred and nothing else -- they were also not directed toward any specific reporters. We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated's attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist.
That was real bad.
Five days later Crane and the "Astros" issued another statement, admitting "We were wrong.," apologizing to SI and announcing that they had told Taubman "You're Fired!" Commissioner Manfred suspended Haubman from employment in MLB for one year as part of its investigation into the "Astros."
Major League Baseball has a history of condoning misbehavior and a long-standing credibility problem. In 2019, a century after the Black Sox, umpire Trump supporter and Indiana, Pennsylvania native Rob Drake...
Lookin' good, Rob! Drink much?
tweeted during the World Series between Washington and Houston appropriately enough,
I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020
Spell much?
Manfred of course announced that MLB would be "investigating."
And in 2019 Manfred admitted that a new manufacturer of baseballs had resulted in "juiced balls" in 2017 and 2018, balls that are wound so tight that they jump off the bat and result in more crowd-pleasing home runs. This, of course, came only after two seasons of player complaints and an investigation conducted by FiveThirtyEight. Twenty years earlier MLB had the scandal of juiced players. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke long-standing home run records and in 2001 Barry Bonds broke McGwire's record. All three suddenly sported unnatural-looking, over-muscled physiques. They had all been on steroids.
