When the Houston Astros executed their trash-can-banging sign stealing, they may have done so assuming opponents cheated in the same manner. Just as consistently, just as brazenly. But based on the angry reaction of peers, it's apparent that the Astros crossed a line.
The backlash has been fueled by social media, something that was not available two decades ago or as pervasive 10 years ago. But front-office staffers around baseball cannot remember a circumstance of such widespread and loud player-to-player condemnation. Not for a steroid suspension, not because of a brawl, not for a slide that injured a player.
From the hour that commissioner Rob Manfred released his report and announced the discipline, opponents of the Astros have blasted away and continue to do so. Cody Bellinger, who has spent his life in baseball and is usually understated, averaging about seven tweets a month, posted almost immediately, "If true, there needs to be major consequences to the players. That completely ruins the integrity of the game!!!"
With yes, one, two, three exclamation points. The anger of CC Sabathia, who was honored at the All-Star Game last summer in the last of his 19 seasons, seemed to simmer initially, before reaching full boil on his podcast. "We should have won!" he said, referring to the Yankees' loss to Houston in the AL Championship Series of 2017. "There's no way we weren't better than them. I don't give a f--- what nobody says!"
Pitcher Kevin Gausman wrote: "This Astros thing is bad!!! Guys lost jobs, got sent down, missed service time because of how they were hit in Houston. Does anyone really think they only did this in '17?" He added the hashtag #getreal.
Veteran third baseman Evan Longoria, highly respected in the game, posted on Twitter: "What happened to the term 'cheaters never prosper'?"
Aaron Judge, beaten out by Houston's Jose Altuve for the AL MVP Award in 2017, the year of the trash-can assaults, apparently deleted a two-year-old congratulatory post to the second baseman. Then there was this video posted by Mike Clevinger, who was part of the Indians team that was steamrollered by the Astros in the 2018 playoffs. The right-hander suggested that the Houston players shouldn't even look other players in the eye.
Last weekend, Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers said of the Astros: "They cheated and they got away with it. They got a ring out of it."
Said Dodgers teammate Justin Turner: "We know how hard it is to win a World Series, getting there back-to-back years and not being successful, and we know it's something you really have to earn. And with the commissioner's report ... it's hard to feel like they earned it."
With so much unknown about the impact of the Astros' cheating, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered empathy for the pitchers hit hard in the 2017 World Series -- Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish and Kenley Jansen. The other day, Kershaw noted the lack of contrition from the Astros after the report was released, telling the Los Angeles Times, "It is a little bit interesting that the Astros players haven't said sorry or meant it or anything like that. Just not a whole lot of remorse yet, which they did win a World Series, and they're not taking it back, so I don't know."
Longtime big leaguer Danny Valencia commented on Twitter, "These reports of cheating from the Astros are next level. What a joke. If it is in fact 100% true then the World Series in '17 should be stripped, as well as individual awards."
When the Braves' Freddie Freeman was asked about the Astros' scandal, he tearfully raised the experience of a cherished teammate, Kris Medlen -- who allowed seven runs to the Astros in his last big league game in Houston in 2018, and retired shortly thereafter. Freeman and his peers are left to wonder forever how the cheating altered careers, regular season and postseason results, accolades.
Attribute it to the fog of baseball wars. The Astros may well have assumed that with video feeds available in every clubhouse, many other teams were sign stealing just as they were -- in the same manner, and just as relentlessly. What the Houston players and staffers should understand, if they don't already, is that there is no way such a wide spectrum of their peers would have responded so angrily unless what the Astros perpetrated was above and beyond what other teams did.
And it may well be that other teams stole signs illicitly -- perhaps a starting pitcher on a rest day wandering into the dugout and telling the hitters about the sequence of the opposing catcher. But the Houston system was apparently more sophisticated and more consistently deployed, as described in the thoroughly researched piece that was posted the other day by self-described Astros fan Tony Adams.
Not only did the Houston hitters have a clue about what was coming when they heard the sounds from the dugout, but also what it meant when the trash can wasn't banged, enabling them to narrow their focus.
Think of it like a neighborhood poker game. Some players can spot an occasional tell, or maybe a specific card lazily splayed too far at the edge of a given hand; that's acceptable stuff. But as far as the Astros' peers are concerned, Houston pulled sleeved aces repeatedly, effectively swiping from peers.
Within the movie "Rounders," the characters played by Matt Damon and Edward Norton clash over poker ethics. Mike McDermott (Damon) believes in his own ability to read opponents and play straight-up, while Worm (Norton) doesn't understand his friend's insistence on competing with integrity, rather than dealing from the bottom of the deck or cheating in other ways. "I don't think like you," Worm says. "You always think you can beat the game straight-up. That's not me, and I'm always going to look for the edge, always."
The Astros became Worm over the past decade. For four years, they tanked to a degree that altered the trajectory of the sport. They ignored the revolting truth behind Roberto Osuna 's suspension under the domestic violence policy to capitalize on his trade value, when no other team was willing to go that far, and the front office was indignant when anyone questioned the choice. (Hello, Brandon Taubman.) And the Astros apparently took the sign stealing to the next level.
Not all of the players were involved in the sign stealing, and those who were probably participated to widely varying degrees. It's likely there were a lot of bystanders. But just as Matt Damon's character was bloodied for the sins of Worm, guilt by association, others Astros who were mostly bystanders are going to have to answer for the organization's mistakes. Not just with the media, but with the many, many opponents who clearly feel the Astros have robbed them of something they can never get back. And they want Houston players to answer for it, or at least feel badly about it.
To date, none of the current Astros have directly addressed what happened. Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman deflected questions. Dallas Keuchel, a pitcher now two teams removed from his time with the Astros, apologized last week as he was formally introduced with the White Sox.
Houston owner Jim Crane has indicated that the Astros players will apologize in spring training, together. Some words of advice to the Astros players: Follow Keuchel's example and talk before you get to camp. Find a camera as soon as possible, talk about what happened, express your feelings about your actions. If you wait until the start of spring training, it'll look like you were dragged along as part of a chain gang, like a bunch of students forced to stay after class and write your name on a chalkboard 100 times. And if you're going to apologize, you'd rather be first in line, not last.
On the day that Crane announced he was firing manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, he was asked, in so many words, about whether the scandal took away from what the Astros accomplished in 2017. He indicated that no, it didn't.
A high-ranking official with another team who heard that and has thought about the impact of the scandal on the sport brought up the Astros' owner in conversation this week. "If I were Jim Crane," the official said, "I would come out and say, 'Yes, it is tainted.' Because, how could it not be?
"He should say, 'We were wrong, we hurt the game and other people, and for that, we're sorry.'"
• Speaking of Crane, it is apparent from his handling of the search for a manager and general manager that he intends to assume a lot of baseball ops real estate left behind by Luhnow. Crane was instrumental in the Astros' acquisition of Justin Verlander late in the 2017 season, and it may be that the success of that move has fueled his confidence in his ability to make baseball decisions.
As one savvy and experienced baseball executive noted the other day, there tend to be three types of ownerships: corporate ownership, which generally leaves the baseball decisions to the baseball operations department (think Blue Jays); the individual owner who mostly defers to the front office (think Hal Steinbrenner); and then there is the very hands-on owner, who steers decisions (think George Steinbrenner, back in the day). With the Astros' front office in transition, Crane appears poised to play a greater role.
News from around the major leagues
The Reds bolstered their everyday lineup this winter, signing Mike Moustakas to play second base and Nicholas Castellanos to be part of their outfield. They've got what could be a really good rotation, with Luis Castillo leading a rotation that includes Sonny Gray (an All-Star in 2019), Anthony DeSclafani (who had a 3.49 ERA after the break), Trevor Bauer and Wade Miley.
Bauer could be the linchpin guy for the Reds, the pitcher who makes the difference between good and great; he had a 6.39 ERA in 10 starts for Cincinnati last year, after being acquired from Cleveland. The Reds believe that his struggles were directly related to the fact that he was tipping his pitches, and after that was cleaned up, Bauer pitched much better in his last starts, including a dominant eight-inning performance in Arizona on Sept. 15.
• A thought about Nick Senzel, the Reds outfielder whose future role is uncertain, following Cincinnati's signing of Castellanos: Bobby Valentine once talked about the word "prospect" and how media members sometimes apply it inappropriately. Someone who is 20 or 21 years old is a prospect, Valentine said, especially those who reached the big leagues at a young age. But by the ages of 24 or 25, players aren't really prospects anymore, Valentine said -- and he shared those thoughts back in the '90s, long before the recent wave of 19-, 20- and 21-year olds like Juan Soto and Ronald Acuna Jr. reached the big leagues as teenagers.
Senzel turns 25 in June, and he has 375 appearances in the big leagues, so the year ahead will be enormous in its importance for him, and in how he's perceived.
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• Three Royals are at critical junctures in their careers, with the 2020 season going a long way towards determining whether Kansas City offers multiyear deals.
Jorge Soler had a breakout season in 2019, with 48 homers among 82 extra-base hits, over 162 games. Soler, 27, needs to show he can do it again, no matter what kind of baseball is in play in the upcoming season.
Adalberto Mondesi has dynamic talent, but he has been hurt a lot -- while accumulating two-plus years of service time, he has played in just 249 games. He has got to show that he can stay in the lineup, leading up to his first pass through arbitration next winter.
Lastly, Hunter Dozier. Like Soler, he had the best season of his career in 2019; like Soler, he must back it up with a similar performance. He's 28 years old.
• Sean Murphy has just 20 games and 60 regular-season plate appearances in the big leagues, but the Athletics will turn the bulk of their catching responsibilities this year to him. Manager Bob Melvin, a former catcher himself, knows the position and has a lot of confidence in Murphy, whose skills behind the plate are highly respected. The only unknown is his durability: He has never played 100 games in any season at any level.