By Andrew Kruszka, Contributing Writer
Major League Baseball has looked like a disgrace after this past off-season’s debacle, trying to deal with the Houston Astros cheating scandal. As we all know, the Astros were caught cheating in 2017, the year they won the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The organization was punished by the MLB in January. Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow were each suspended a year, and later fired by Jim Crane. The Astros also received a $5 million fine, and both of their 2020 and 2021 first-round draft picks were revoked.
The punishment would be hard to swallow if the Astros’ actions had no impact on the people around them. That’s not the case, though. A lot of people lost their jobs and then some. This is why in two little leagues in Los Angeles, the Astros name and logo were banned from being used. The punishment from the MLB was not enough. This is why MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has started to feel the heat.
A Feb. 18 Washington Post article shares some of the language that highly respected players are using about the sign-stealing Astros. Los Angeles Angels’ outfielder and three-time AL MVP Mike Trout stated, “It’s sad for baseball. It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players are not getting anything,” Trout said. “Me going up to the plate, knowing what was coming, it would be pretty fun up there.”
This is coming from someone who is well respected in the league, and a player that competes in the same division as Houston. He’s right. If every MLB hitter, especially someone with talent like Trout, knew what pitch was coming, every game would be high scoring. It’s that simple.
Dodgers’ first baseman Cody Bellinger was upset with the Astros as well, “I mean these guys were cheating for three years. I think what people don’t realize is Altuve stole an MVP from Aaron Judge in 2017. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us.”
New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge finished second in the AL-MVP race in 2017, right behind Astros’ second baseman Jose Altuve. That was the same year the Astros won the World Series while cheating. There is also a high probability that the Astros would still be cheating if they hadn’t been caught.
Astonishingly, this is taking place in a professional sport. Kids look up to these players and coaches. Is this what the MLB wants to put out there? A league where cheating can win a World Series? A league where players won’t get punished for cheating? If these players don’t get punished, someone is going to get hurt. Opposing teams are going to take matters into their own hands.
It’s clear that these players are going to get thrown at, and it’s going to hurt baseball. Manfred needs to listen to players around the league and do more about this scandal. If he doesn’t, all of baseball, not just the Yankees and Dodgers, will lose.
kruszka18@bonaventure.edu
