The Houston Astros were recently caught illegally stealing signs using technology. This was a cheating scandal that has rocked the baseball world, especially considering that they could’ve used this to help them win the 2017 World Series, and almost win the 2019 World Series.

First off, let me explain to people who don’t know baseball that well what the Astros were caught doing and why it is such a huge deal. In baseball, there are different types of pitches a pitcher can throw: changeup, curveball, fastball, sliders etc. Usually, catchers signal pitchers which type of pitch to throw. The Astros used a camera to help decipher those signs and they banged on a trash can to let their batter know what kind of pitch was being thrown. If a batter knows what kind of pitch is being thrown, they have a HUGE advantage over the pitcher and can more accurately hit the ball. The Astros used this system in many games during the regular season and even in the playoffs.

As punishment, the MLB fined the Astros $5 million, forced them to give up their 1st round pick, and suspended the manager and the GM each for a year. Ultimately both the manager and the GM were fired by the organization.

I ,along with many other people feel like a punishment like this just isn’t enough. The players knowingly used this system to help them win and that makes them guilty too. Robert Manfred should make an example of the Astros to help restore fairness and integrity in baseball, and impose heft suspensions and fines on these players. Some people may point to the steroid era to sort of justify the Astros cheating, but as I mentioned earlier, stealing signs using technology is much more advantageous for the team that’s doing it.  I would go as far as stripping their title away.. They cheated. The title isn’t theirs. I understand that these actions will be difficult to do, so at the very least the MLB should acknowledge that the Astros cheated to win the 2017 World Series. Some people have suggested adding an asterisk to the record book as a way of acknowledging the Astros unfair advantage to win the championship. The Astro’s owner and the players only offered up weak apologies that did not indicate any remorse over their actions. The players seemed indifferent about the whole scandal and didn’t really accept as much responsibility as I would’ve liked.

This scandal will certainly blemish the legacies of many of the Astros players and their place in baseball history is now forever in question, which you can argue as being sufficient punishment.

So far, many MLB fans and players have expressed outrage and anger towards the Astros. Even in spring training, some fans have already began verbally harassing the Astros, and some putting up signs that mock the disgraced organization . It will be interesting this year to see how the fans and the players will treat the Astros this year. I just hope that we can get to the point where baseball games are fair, competitive and fun like in the old days of baseball.

Sources:

Neil Xu, Varsity Baseball player for Naperville North

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2020/1/13/21064250/astros-sign-stealing-suspensions-fines-mlb

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/rob-manfred-defends-astros-punishment-says-he-wouldve-penalized-players-in-perfect-world/live/