As the Astros have bungled their apologies for the sign-stealing scandal that has dominated this offseason, Carlos Correa has perhaps been the organization’s most forthright member. In response to the most recent backlash around the game, Correa came out with a passionate defense of the organization- and teammate José Altuve– in an interview with Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic.
“José Altuve was the one guy that didn’t use the trash can,” Correa told Rosenthal. “The few times that the trash can was banged was without his consent, and he would go inside the clubhouse and inside the dugout to whoever was banging the trash can and he would get (upset). He would get mad. He would say, ’I don’t want this. I can’t hit like this. Don’t you do that to me.’ He played the game clean.”
“The reason José Altuve apologized to the media was for being part of the team and for not stopping it,” Correa continued. “But he’s not apologizing for using the trash can. He’s not apologizing for cheating because he did not cheat … José Altuve earned that MVP, and he’s been showing that for years.”
Correa’s defense of Altuve came in response to Cody Bellinger, who sounded off on the scandal Friday. Bellinger argued the Astros “stole” the 2017 World Series from the Dodgers and that Altuve “stole an MVP from (Aaron) Judge.” Bellinger also referenced the unsubstantiated rumors that Astros’ hitters wore electronic buzzers the last few years, made famous by Altuve’s refusal to take off his shirt after his 2019 ALCS-clinching home run off Aroldis Chapman. The Astros have categorically denied using buzzers, and Correa doubled down on that yesterday.
“2019, nobody wore buzzers. That’s a lie,” Correa told Rosenthal. He continued, “(Altuve) hit that home run off Chapman fair and square. He was not wearing buzzers. That’s a story that a fake account on Twitter broke, and then people just got on that wagon and started talking about the buzzers. Like, no. Nobody thought about buzzers. Nobody was using buzzers.”
Instead, Correa gave a pair of explanations to Rosenthal for Altuve’s unwillingness to have his shirt ripped. First, he says, Altuve’s wife had previously told him not to remove his shirt on the field. Somewhat comically, Correa added that Altuve was embarrassed about a “horrible” unfinished collarbone tattoo he wished to keep hidden from public view.
To be clear, Correa did not shy away from all criticism related to the scandal. He admitted to Rosenthal that hitters who used the trash can system in 2017 gained an improper, unfair advantage over opposing pitchers. (In that respect, he disagreed with Astros’ owner Jim Crane, whom Correa says “doesn’t know what kind of advantage we have…because, from afar, it looks hard“). Rather, his defense of the organization’s legacy lies in their postseason success.
Correa argued that the club often struggled to decode signs from the center field camera during the postseason due to opposing teams’ improved countervailing efforts, citing numerous key hits he claims were unsupported by sign stealing. That not every hit was sign stealing-aided, even if true, isn’t enough to say definitively that the Astros would or wouldn’t have won the 2017 World Series without the scheme, though.
Additionally, Correa pointed to the commissioner’s office finding no evidence the club continued the sign stealing efforts in 2019. Last year’s AL pennant, the shortstop argued, was “clean baseball all around.” Of course, some fans and opposing players will roll their eyes at that assertion; the organization has hardly earned the benefit of the doubt on this issue.
Yet Correa’s most passionate defense seemed to be of Altuve, in particular. Clearing his double play partner’s name, it seems, was the main impetus for Correa’s interview with Rosenthal, which is worth reading in full.
For what it’s worth, signstealingscandal.com, which attempted to log every trash can bang during Astros’ 2017 home games, recorded bangs on just 2.8% of pitches (24 bangs on 866 pitches) thrown to Altuve, never more than two in any particular game. These, again, were against Altuve’s wishes, according to Correa. That’s clearly not definitive proof Altuve didn’t participate in the scandal (and as both Correa and Altuve admitted, he deserves some blame for doing little to stop it). Nevertheless, it’s at least partially supportive of Altuve’s legacy and the legitimacy of his 2017 MVP.
DarkSide830
it annoys me this is mostly abouy Altuve. he really seems like the most respectable of the group. you’d wonder if he would be such a target if it was someone else who hit that Chapman pitch.
yogineely
It annoys me the man is a cheater and we can’t trust him from now on
oldmanblue
Spot on!
RedSox4Life4ever
I agree. Altuve didn’t use the trash can system in his MVP year (2017). He did wear an electronic buzzer in 2019. So is Correa stating that Altuve was already using the buzzer back in his MVP year of 2017? Too many holes in Correa’s statement.
RedSox4Life4ever
*He didn’t wear an electronic…
Mick1956
He sure didn’t want that shirt ripped off and his excuse of it being a respect thing after the game was disingenuous
oldoak33
RedSox4
There are too many holes in the idea there were buzzers in the first place.
rerogers
It sounds like you already have your mind made up, regardless of evidence. Why don’t you go do something else with your life for awhile.
robertp
If he wore a buzzer like the internet conspiracy nut world would have you believe, why would his teammates, also participating in the sign stealing fiasco, go to rip off his jersey and expose the scam to the entire world?
The holes are in your conspiracy dude. Take off the tinfoil hat.
Matt Kimball
How about this. Cheaters by definition are also liars. I don’t believe ANYTHING they say. There is no such rhing as , yeah I am a lying cheater, but seriously believe me now. It doesn’t work that way. None of you asholes are ever going to be believed again. MLB didn’t punish youbut your reputations are tarnished forever. Live with it. Once a liar, always a liar.
delete
The Fangraphs analysis of the trash can banging scheme showed that it was indeed used for Altuve and that he benefitted from it. The
MVP race between Altuve and Judge was so close that it didn’t take much to steal the award. Correa can say whatever he wants, but forgive us if we don’t consider him to be an honest and uninterested source.
yogineely
Trashstro fans are in such denial
looiebelongsinthehall
Correa’s comments come a little late. While plausible, neither in my eyes is believable.
Halo11Fan
You have to be insane to believe a word they say. Bonds and Clemens lied to Congress, do you think a player is going to tell the truth to a reporter? I don’t.
mack22 2
Can’t blame them, imagine if it was your team. Doesn’t change the truth though
Chief Two Hands
Yeah I trust Correa’s word about as far as I can throw the entire Astros organization.
laswagn
Y’all should visit an Astros fan page. It will blow your mind, the stupid excuses they’re coming up with. lol
Derekb69
That’s lie.
sambino
Think about how many times guys were on base for Jose altuve to drive in and collect RBIs because they knew what pitch was coming do to the the trash can and had an advantage and either knew not to swing or swung and got based its. Jose Altuve totally stole that mvp from Aaron Judge!
Halo11Fan
mack22, I think almost everyone can imagine if it’s their team. How many teams have not been affected by PED users?
How did the Yankees feel about ARod when he carried them to a World Series? How about Manny Ramirez? How many PED users do the Twins have? And so on…
If it’s your team, fans typically have a way of justifying cheating. I would imagine players do as well.
Rallyshirt
You mean Carlos “Bellinger has low reading comprehension” Correa?
WarrenSpahn
Aaron Judge should be bitter
like Matt Kemp when Ryan Braun stole the 2011 MVP from him…
ateam043
This much is true. The Astros reddit page is in extreme denial.
Prospectnvstr
Did you not notice the article PLAINLY stated that Carlos has been the MOST FORTHCOMING in addressing the ENTIRE situation?If anyone would get ANY benefit of the doubt, regarding this, it would be him.
Prospectnvstr
Did you not notice the article PLAINLY stated that Carlos has been the MOST FORTHCOMING in addressing the ENTIRE situation?If anyone would get ANY benefit of the doubt, regarding this, it would be him.
Prospectnvstr
Did you not notice the article PLAINLY stated that Carlos has been the MOST FORTHCOMING in addressing the ENTIRE situation?If anyone would get ANY benefit of the doubt, regarding this, it would be him.
Fuck Me Bitch
Rafael Palmeiro lied. Lance Armstrong lied. Lying is an art form for some people. Who can you trust?
Fuck Me Bitch
Homers will be homers (and that includes all of us at some level, right?). That’s why Manfred and MLB should have come down HARD on this team.
ABStract
But none of them SHOULD get the benefit of the doubt
So what’s your point?
slider32
Bottom line, the title and all players of the Astros are tainted forever. They must deal with that reality instead of making up stories.
frankiegxiii
It’s not hard to be the MOST forthcoming player on that team when pretty much every player is hiding behind the commissioners report, all you would have to do is say “yeah, we cheated” and that automatically makes you the most truthful of the bunch.
Col. Taylor
*
Chief Two Hands
Houston really hasn’t been the same since General Zod and friends landed there during the events of Superman 2.
looiebelongsinthehall
Spot on.
looiebelongsinthehall
No different than back in the day with Canseco. After his admissions, Mike Greenwell himself said he deserved the MVP in 88 I believe it was. MLB did nothing then and will do nothing now.
looiebelongsinthehall
He had no choice. Without immunity the players would not have spoken.
rerogers
The fans didn’t cheat. So trashing them just shows how little you are.
sithdude
Mike Trout was robbed not Aaron Judge
chound
I’m with this person!
justinkm19
That’s what I was going to say. How can we trust someone that cheated? I don’t care what he says. I don’t believe him. They all knew about it and it continued. They are a team and the team cheated every last one of them
Derekb69
mobile.twitter.com/bloyd_derek/status/122878894573…
Here’s a link to pics that at least prove Altuve had a new tattoo during the world series.
giantsphan12
I don’t believe for one second that Altuve had a new tattoo during the WS. I have a few tats, and no professional player would get a new tat during the playoffs. One,
they are mildly-very painful (depending on location, tattooed skill etc.) and Two, you have to care for them very delicately for weeks after getting one. Special washing, special lotion, they itch like crazy after about one week and that lasts for about one week. NO PLAYER WOULD DISTRACT THEMSELVES FROM PLAYIFF BASEBALL
giantsphan12
(Sorry) BASEBALL BY GETTING A NEW TATTOO halfway they the postseason. I call BS!!!!
Fuck Me Bitch
That picture makes NO sense.
frankiegxiii
The tattoo doesn’t look new. There doesn’t look to be any ointment or anything on it. The tattoo looks to just be a name so it’s most likely finished. The only embarrassing thing is that it probably says “Property of Carlos”.
Chief Two Hands
Can tattoos be cheated, though?
oldoak33
If you did not break the rules by definition you did not cheat. If José Altuve didn’t participate in the scheme, he did not cheat. The distinction is a massively important one. Tony Kemp did not cheat. He is not a cheater.
Instead of some credit being given to guys that tried to play the right way, in the face of pressure and difficulty, we assume the very worst of them.
MoRivera 1999
No way a fierce competitor like Altuve didn’t take advantage of the trash can.
takeitback
This is what everyone is missing.
takeitback
This is a stupid take.
Why would Correa admit to cheating, admit that his teammates did, and then single out Altuve, Reddick, and Kemp as guys that didn’t participate? He has nothing to gain by doing this.
And then when you look at the stats from sign stealing site, and it proves that those 3 weren’t involved.
But, keep making your own assumptions and ignoring the facts.
ThePentaverate
takeitback… You’re right. At least according to the data. Not according to the crowd-sourced truth that gets created on sites like this. Or the mob mentality on sites like Twitter.
But what Correa said about those 3 is corroborated by the data. It’s hard to argue against that.
Prospectnvstr
Unlike you, I suppose, who has NEVER done ANYTHING underhanded or “against the book” in your whole adult life. Am I right?
MoRivera 1999
For months on end? No, I’ll bet most people haven’t.
Fuck Me Bitch
I stole a stapler once from a corporation where I worked. I was caught and suspended for 30 days without pay. I apologized profusely on Twitter and was let go a year later. I worked 3 years for an independent corporation in Mexico and then was let go by them. Now I wash dishes at McDonald’s. Never steal! And if you’re caught deny that you stole! It’s in the Bible somewhere, I think.
whimsy
Prospetnvstr- This is classic what aboutism. Just because I’ve done something that is against the rules doesn’t negate/justify their wrong doing. We would ALL be wrong and should be punished accordingly.
The Astros during their press conference said that the cheating didn’t change the outcomes of the games. If that is so then why do it and what are they apologizing for? The bottoms line is they cheated and they’re sorry they got caught. They deserve to have this hang over the organization and their respective careers just like PED users have had to deal with. The players and organization profited from that 2017 campaign and that’s unfair to those who were playing the game “clean”. The Astros will have to deal with the boos, negativity and doubt that comes their way because they brought it on themselves
shawn hemp
It’s in the Old Testament I think
seekerofwisdomandtruth
We’re not talking about anyone on this Board. We’re talking about a bunch of cheaters. Also, the few that may not have cheated did not do anything as far as we know to deter the Astros’ cheating.
AtlSoxFan
They say the signals were only heard around 3% of at bats…
That makes it sound like it isn’t much, but, 3% strikeouts to hits would take you from a .276 hitter to being a .306 hitter.
Even half that boost goes from pretty good to winning the MVP over guys who didn’t cheat.
“We didn’t cheat… well, we cheated, but TRUST US, we’ll tell you when we didn’t cheat…”
Roll
I have an idea lets lower all his stats by 3% and redo the mvp votes and then see if he has the MVP. People are saying its not too much but would this sway them?
Outside of batting average, his stats would be less than the number 3 in the mvp voting in Jose Ramirez. Which to me should make it more in favor that ramirez and judge would take votes away and judge would get the number 1 as he wouldnt have been as high.
We would also have to account for all the people that got on base ahead of him that were using the trash can as that would have accounted for possible rbis further reducing his stats and possibly avg. With players on base especially scoring positions pitchers will pitch differently. as well (ie from the “stretch” instead of windup).
Also didnt altuve himself say he didnt take off his shirt because of his wife not wanting him to .. this is the first im hearing of the tattoo thing
ThePentaverate
Depends on the # of ABs if we’re talking BA. Probably better to just stick to invalidating his entire season if you believe the narrative that Altuve participated in 2017, which I’m going to go waaay out on a limb here and assume you do.
I would be curious how the 3% would have affected his WAR in 2017. I have no clue how to calculate that or if it’s even possible. Way over my head, but I heard some guys in the front office in Houston are pretty good with numbers. Terrible at PR, but great with numbers.
oldoak33
The scheme didn’t start til the 28th of May. There are bangs recorded for the first few days of April.
If you go to the web page you can filter for each player, but you can also filter for total bangs per game for the team. From April 1-May 27 The TOTAL bangs in a game never exceeded six for the entire team. The chart looked something like this per day: 1, 0, 2, 0, 5, 1, 0, 0, 2, 6…. all the way to May 28th, where suddenly Tony Adams notes 28 bangs. 28 bangs on the 28th correlates with what players admitted to investigators. The scheme started in late May, or two months into the season. Tony Adams accounting for one or two bangs total per game in early April/May is research error. It doesn’t make any sense, and any bangs prior to May 28th should be discredited in data.
Data for Altuve includes bangs prior to May 28, four or five games in fact. These are errors. NONE of Altuve’s games included more than two bangs TOTAL for the game. His game charts, which you can view, look like this: 1,0 ,0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1…
In 2017, Jose Altuve saw 50.2% fastballs. The average hitter sees 3.83 pitches per plate appearance. If José Altuve only received one bang per game, that wouldn’t account for a single plate appearance worth of off speed pitches. You have to conclude that some of these bangs may not even have been a trash can if Tony accounts for bangs in early April, and you certainly have to question the validity of the data for Altuve on his FB% alone.
oldoak33
Pentaverate,
Altuve is labeled for 2.77% of bangs for total ABs over the course of the year. This total includes bangs in games in April when the system wasn’t being used and early May.
Half of the games are played on the road, so 2.77% divided by two is 1.385% (if you’re looking at the overall effect it would have on an MVP case). You could argue that Altuve saw 50% fastballs (no bangs for fastballs) which would double the percentage overall back to 2.77%.
Altuve was a better hitter on the road in 2017, so you can’t just remove 2.77% of his output. You have to account for a .300 BA either way. It’s safe to say he gets a hit 1/3 percent of the time without the bangs on 2.77% of total AB’s. That means Altuve’s output would have been around 1.77% less than it was if he actually had help 2.77% of the time.
His home road splits are non existent. No discrepancy, if not better on the road where the Astros did not employ the system.
ThePentaverate
Old Oak, thanks for taking the time to crunch those numbers!
I’m honestly curious for anyone who has thought Altuve cheated in 2017 if seeing these types of numbers have changed your perception of him (not the rest of the team… just him) at all?
shawn hemp
My favorite part of all this is how they keep pointing to the manfred report. No one cares what it says cause we all know it’s a damage control report. We all know this went on into last year. If u weren’t being punished why would u stop. Everyone picked up on the banging of a trash can so u moved on to more elaborate scheme of buzzers. Everyone knows it. Gtfoh wit delusional thoughts of you woulda won without it.
shawn hemp
I cannot wait for one of them to charge the mound and for benches to clear. Altuve and Correa are gonna get blindsided with a vengeance. It. Will. Be. GLORIOUS
AndyMeyer
Again, you’re pathetic for wishing harm on others
shawn hemp
Go sing kumbaya. I live in the real world where men handle business with their fists if they are wronged. It’s not my fault u got stuffed in trash cans and bullied in high school. Man tf Andy
goastros123
As funny as your account name is, Shawn Hemp, your comment says a lot about you and none of it is good.
AndyMeyer
Wow. Alrighty dude. You win
shawn hemp
This generation is so soft. Scared to get punched in the face. I’m not saying kill them bruh but punch those mf in their face. Hell yeah. I think u and Andy could use a punch to the face too. Maybe ur balls will drop from it
goastros123
Oh look it’s “wahhh this generation wahhh”. Yes, keep being mad at people for not having to go through what you did. It’s not about being soft. It’s about not being a jackass, mr. internet-tough-guy. Lol. Believe or not, fighting and massive brawls do not make baseball look good
shawn hemp
Dam I get censored more than the nwa… I’m not saying kill the astros but I am saying punch them upside their head. Goastros and Andy could prolly us a fist to the face too. Maybe that’ll make their nuts drop
AndyMeyer
By your general comments, you’ve got the intelligence of a rock, a brain of a piss-ant and the toughness of a paper bag
goastros123
You’re saying players should get themselves in trouble by trying to fight the Astros. How do you think Mike Trout punching Altuve in the face after a double would go down? Oh yes, Trout would definitely get off free and the Astros most certainly wouldn’t try to defend their teammate. I’m sure Altuve wouldn’t even try to retaliate. Lol.
shawn hemp
U just proved my point marshmallow. Live ur nerf life sitting on ur biscuit never having to risk it.
shawn hemp
I blame glee. F U glee
goastros123
You’re proving that you’re an internet tough guy.
shawn hemp
Who doubles and punches the second basemen in the face? Good luck in life ur soft and stupid. Enjoy ur grandmas basement well into ur 40’s
shawn hemp
I feel bad for both of ur dads. What a disappointment you both must be.
goastros123
You’re right: Corey Kluber will charge at Correa while Correa is hitting, leading to a massive fight, no one will get in trouble, Correa will just take it, and no one from the Astros dug out wiill come out to defend Correa, Surely, you’re intelligent enough to understand why you’re idea is a horrible idea. However, it seems that’s not the case.
AndyMeyer
“Goastros and Andy could prolly use a fist to the face too”
Way to flex your keyboard muscle fingers
Prolly? Ha
shawn hemp
Idgaf what u cowards think of me. Come to a As game wearing ur astros gear and we will see.
AndyMeyer
“What a disappointment you both must be”.
Says every lady about you and your manhood
AndyMeyer
Cowards?
Question genius. Are you the pot or the kettle?
AndyMeyer
“Come to an A’s game wearing your Astros gear”
Funny you assume I’m an Astros fan
Secondly, it shouldn’t be too hard to get tickets to an A’s game since no one hardly goes
shawn hemp
Ur lucky Anthony Franco or his editor won’t let my comments be posted cause they soft like y’all. Ur both cowards you proved that by how outta line u think fighting is. If u ever get a girl she gonna get snatched by a real one cause girls don’t like cowards like you. So when someone steps to you just run before something bad happens to ya
goastros123
There’s a reason why players who get into fights in MLB, NFL, and NBA are punished, mr. internet tough guy.
shawn hemp
And honey Franco or whoever polices this site. Ur soft like these 2 clowns. Just ban me or let my comments be posted
shawn hemp
Like I said you’ll never know if I’m tough or not. I know ya what u are tho. A scared coward who thinks a fight is outta line. Man tf or u gonna get pushed around her whole life. It’s a dog eat dog world and by the way u talk u a cat
WarrenSpahn
uh no…
AndyMeyer
You done?
oldoak33
Dog eat dog world until someone cheats against your favorite sports team. Then, in your dog eat dog world, where you’re so emotionally injured over a game, you call on others to do violence on your behalf.
shawn hemp
Lmao. Y’all are weak af. It’s comedy.
shawn hemp
Go get transition surgery cuz u better off as women
Mystic Rhythms
If any of you decide to take shawn up on his offer to go to a game in Oakland be sure to step over all the pieces of human waste that tend to congregate there.. Oh, the sewage backs up too so watch out for that.
AndyMeyer
Sexist much?
Fuck Me Bitch
You should have just left it alone, Mr. Hemp. You’re digging a hole no amount of hemp smoking can get you out of.
Fuck Me Bitch
An A’s fan. We should have figured. Hope your team moves away so you can sulk like the crybaby you are.
Fuck Me Bitch
I see behind your bitter ruse, Hemp, you’re a cartoon character! Which one though?
Fuck Me Bitch
I vote for having you banned. But then you would just change your name, right?
shawn hemp
Bet he or you don’t come to an A’s game wearing astros gear. They not gonna hold ur hand and sing kumbaya with you like u think. U gonna get bodied. And we all know Andy Meyer don’t want that smoke. And by the sound of it you don’t either. You’ll write it on the internet but you wouldn’t say it to anyone’s face. Keep it real mystic rhythms
shawn hemp
Who’s the crybaby? Y’all are offended I said they gonna get beat up. Y’all need to Grow a pair everyone of ya. It’s a joke. You can tell not one of you have ever been in one. Fight or flight I know which one everyone of u choose lmao. Keep running from real ones cause none of y’all got what it takes
shawn hemp
Dudes who use the phrase bitter ruse also wear panties
shawn hemp
Ban him cause I don’t like his opinion. But I’m the crybaby lmao Foh
shawn hemp
Y’all should reach out to each other so you can have the all male orgy u dreamed about. U can pillow fight and talk about all ur emotions and talk about the challenges women and lgbtq face. Wait u can do all the other things but pillow fight cause one of you might end up in the hospital.
ABStract
A’s fans, always keepin it classy
Fuck Me Bitch
I am not an Astros fan either. Sorry to disappoint you.
Fuck Me Bitch
I know “bitter ruse” shows that I have a very extensive vocabulary. I guess “extensive” shows it too.
Rudy Zolteck
Isn’t saying he should go have a gay orgy with another poster kind of affirming his case for wanting you to leave the board because of toxicity? I mean… just… what?
goastros123
Real tough guys don’t need to act tough, call people cowards, soft, etc on the internet like Shawn Hemp.
shawn hemp
Real tough guys wouldn’t be so offended when some suggest that guys who stole something get beat up. These guys stole millions from people, stole World Series rings, mvps, people’s jobs, affected peoples lives and families. If that is ground for getting beat up then I don’t what is in ur eyes. Go be the peace be with you type idgaf. Real ones fight in those circumstances. And ur comments show who u are, ur the type to run and let people walk on you. Not me, I’ll put ur lights out in those circumstances.
Rudy Zolteck
… real tough guys probably wouldn’t need to tell MLBTR posters to go have gay sex when they get disagreed with, so, ok hoss, you’re a real winner in this internet fight lmao, whatever you say.
shawn hemp
I wasn’t the one coming at people they came at me. So u want me to back down and let people attack me personally. That ain’t me bud. Face to face or on the Internet. So get ur pom poms our and join in on their orgy cause u seem like a cupcake too
shawn hemp
Go look at the thread df. If u agree with them then u just as sorry excuse of a man as they are
Rudy Zolteck
You’re the one who started it by calling him soft because he made a joke about attendance at A’s games. Then instead of just taking whatever was coming to you in stride, which is what you *should* do when you make comments on a public thread of that nature, you just keep getting hurt and talking about being tough, lol, this is the opposite of tough. You’re having a complete meltdown.
shawn hemp
Wtf? U are a clown for real lol. They’ll include you in the orgy bruh u ain’t gotta prove nothing to them lmao
shawn hemp
He called me pathetic for wishing harm on others when I said I can’t wait for a fight to break out. And believe me it’s gonna happen. Lol that is soft in this situation. And then a buncha other cupcakes like u joined in. Be soft idgaf. Me I’d throw a pitch at their body and if they took one step towards the mound go out a pummel em morning nail they were unconscious. You can go shake their hands if u wanna. Says a lot about y’all and that’s the truth
goastros123
Again: real tough guys don’t need to act the way you act on the internet. You’re like Johnny Bravo the cartoon character: part of the humor of that cartoon was the fact that Johnny thought he was the kind of guy who ladies everywhere want. You think you’re the example of a true tough guy. You’re really not. Yes, the Astros cheated and it’s wrong and right now they are their own worst enemy. However, that doesn’t excuse the ridiculous belief that opposing players should try to fight them before, during, or after a game. You take a swing at one of the Astros and it only leads to more problems. Fighting has no business in baseball. Your latest comment shows the difference between you and some one like Aaron Judge or Mike Trout. I came out you because you’re adovacating for the Astros players to get hurt and/or assaulted. I already asked you before and I’m asking you again: if an opposing player goes after an Astros player and takes a swing at them, how do you think that’s gonna go? I’ll tell you how it’s gonna go: the Astros player in question will be pissed and rightfully so, because of that he might retaliate by taking a swing back at him, the rest of the Astros will come out and defend their teammate, etc. That’s not a good idea at all.
Rudy Zolteck
Not sure if this is god-tier memeing or not but I do agree no one should get physically targeted in a baseball game. If you’re not yanking chains and actually are just another MLBTR tough guy then, I mean, ok, whatever you say hoss (again)
shawn hemp
You know what else doesn’t belong in baseball. CHEATING. But the astros did it. Which affected a lot of people. So now they gonna have to fight. It’s gonna happen bud. Cause these are grown men not a bunch of cowards. Scared Guys like you can stand on the sidelines while the real ones mix it up
Rudy Zolteck
… what? I’m a fan and you’re a fan so yeah all of us are going to be on the sidelines whether they’re fighting or not. Again this is either modern art or you’re just sinking to a new level lol
goastros123
It’s internet tough guys like you who back down when real tough guys step in and tell you to knock it off.
shawn hemp
Ok squirt. Be scared of a fight is all I’m saying. Ur not the only scared one on this thread. I’m not trying to act tough. I haven’t challenged anyone to a fight nothing. I know what I’d do if something popped off and I know what You’d do. I’ll stay and fight while u run like a bish.
shawn hemp
Lol. Idgaf what u think of me bud. I’m not no punk but you have sounded like one this entire arguement
shawn hemp
I’m saying in a fight you’d run. Not on the baseball field but on the street.
Rudy Zolteck
they didn’t say you challenged anyone to fight. You’re just really eager for one to happen on the field, got joked around with, and then completely flipped out lol what a dude. And all of this on the internet. Whatever floats your boat.
goastros123
Lol. You’ve been acting tough this whole time. Only an internet tough guy would randomly start calling other people online a coward or soft and say the kind of things you’ve said about orgies, cats, etc. I’ve seen some ridiculous takes on this whole scandal but yours is by far the worst I’ve ever seen. No matter how you dare it, you’re acting like Johnny Bravo.
shawn hemp
Bruh y’all came at me for mentioning a fight. I know what I am. I’ve been in plenty of fights. Lost some won some but never scared of one. You were offended enough at me for mentioning one that you came at me. So would u think oh that guys tough for being offended at the thought of a fight breaking out or think the exact opposite of a guy who was offended at such a thought?
shawn hemp
Why is mine ridiculous for suggesting that the astros are gonna have to fight? Read 80% of the other threads talking about bean balls and high and tight all year. U think that’s not gonna happen? Cuz it is. U think the astros are gonna sit back and take that like cowards? Hell Na they ain’t they grown men who aren’t scared to fight
Rudy Zolteck
Ok that’s cool now explain why you had to call other dudes gay when they made jokes about the Coliseum or told you that they didn’t want guys to get hit by baseballs
shawn hemp
I give af about the coliseum bud. These cupcakes are gay and soft if the suggestion of fight makes them start talking ish. That’s what this is about. I wrote that comment before the comment about the coliseum even posted to my thread
Rallyshirt
Hemp, while I cannot condone everything that’s been said in this battle here, I will say this. The reason why we have rules and regulations are to ensure the security of those affected by wrong doing. If the league does not punish the players for what’s reportedly a player driven scheme of breaking the rules, it is entirely logical that opposing players will enforce some sort of punishment on their own.
Sadly, if that’s beaning or making hard slides to try and injure an Astros infielder, it is wrong – but so be it.
Rudy Zolteck
I mean, not wanting guys to fight isn’t really soft. We’re not cavemen. There’s ways to affect a situation without hurting people. If you can’t see that then I agree when you talk about not wanting to run into you on the street because you don’t sound like a dude that I want to be around, honestly.
shawn hemp
I’m not saying head hunt wit 99. But hit them in the body wit 90 and when a fight breaks out handle it. It’s gonna happen. I’ll actually respect the astros more after it happens. But they gonna have to take their lumps
AndyMeyer
Dude you said the other day that you hope Altuve charges the mound and gets put in the ICU
If you wish that on another human being, god forbid a baseball player, you’re a disgusting, scumbag, disgrace of a human being. So take your little jabs and your tough guy comments and shove em
Tough guy? You’re not. You’re a punk
goastros123
Rallyshirts, bean them below the neck and head area and there you go.
shawn hemp
Bruh getting punched in the face doesn’t kill you. It hurts but you gonna walk away from it. I in no way am saying but them in a hospital. But a good old fashioned fist fight is gonna happen. It’s gonna happen between team that aren’t the astros. Fights happen. I’ve been a n fights with people and walked away friends.
shawn hemp
If a fight broke out and u were a runner I wouldn’t wanna be around u either. Nothing wrong with that. We grew up different
Rudy Zolteck
No one cares about your fights and your being a hothead isn’t helping your case haha you said “put him in the ICU” you didn’t just say to punch him
Rudy Zolteck
Yeah except your reason for avoiding us is not being “tough” while we’re saying that you sound absolutely psycho the way you talk about fighting dude, apples and oranges
shawn hemp
Andy Meyer no one cares what the scared guy thinks of em. Ur transparent irl you would call me sir and wouldn’t say a mf thing else. So take that punk talk and hang ur hat on it because you don’t want the smoke bud
shawn hemp
Like I’ve said Igaf about what u Internet cupcakes think. All of you sound like u haven’t been punched in the face and it shows
Rallyshirt
Goastros123, if this is anarchy, than this is anarchy.
For levity, I once met a guy with two black eyes. Later, I told a friend from Virginia about him. Her response:
“He had to be told twice.”
shawn hemp
Altuve would get put in the icu. He’s 5’5 140 pounds. Believe me if yasiel puig hit him he would be in the icu. But he’s gonna run and hide like most of you would
Rudy Zolteck
Such a grandpa story lol, ok man, punching a guy out really taught him a lesson. Super scared. Whatever. Throw at guys and get suspended. We’d be saying the same things if any of the other 29 teams did it. Cut the tough guy stories and save them for your drinking buddies or something lol
shawn hemp
Lol. Like I said after u get punched in ur face squirt maybe you feel differently until then stay scared of physical altercations
Rudy Zolteck
Who said we’re scared just because we don’t want baseball players fighting? Drop the act man.
shawn hemp
I mean what lesson did the astros learn from not getting punished by the commish. None. So the players are gonna teach them a lesson cuz that’s what men do. That’s the point. U never been hit or hit anyone that’s clear as day. Which means you’ve backed down in any situation you’ve been in. That’s coward ish in might book. And all the others that feel a fight is “wrong” are the same type of bish you are
shawn hemp
Why wouldn’t you want them to fight is the question?
shawn hemp
Drop the kumbaya act bruh
nick effing punto
I agree. A little scrum is working things out. Sounds like most people on this board didn’t grow up with brothers. Or friends.
shawn hemp
For real tho. They been arguing and talking ish all day cause I said I can’t wait for a fight lmao. Astros games are gonna be must see tv waiting for this brawl to happen. Me personally cant wait
yaktheripper
Poor Shawn. Raging at a world he barely understands. Like our own version of Dotard. He doesn’t understand basic definitions, rules, ethics, psychology, or even baseball. MLB Trade Rumors CAN’T”censor” your comments son, as they’re not associated with the government nor are interfering with your “Freedom of Speech”. They can remove you and your comments as they own this domain. It’s a “business” decision…what was it you do for a living again???
AndyMeyer
I could care less what you think “bruh”. I’m not your bruh, your neighbor or your friend. Take your smoke and blow it out your ass
BobbyDynamite
Shawn Hemp obviously graduated from the Podesta School of Projection.
oldoak33
Hemp,
The commissioners report is the source of all of the information we know about what happened with the astros in 2017. Unless you know of some secret leak, literally everything you use as ammunition against the astros comes from the report you’re criticizing and dismissing.
shawn hemp
@ yakthedipshit. They can censor me bruh and I can keep talking. Speaking of following rules why didn’t the astros bud. I’m talking about baseball and what’s gonna happen and you focused on me. U might think u sound intelligent but to me u sound like a pompous bish who thinks people should get away with whatever they want with no repercussions but that don’t happen when real men get crossed. @ oldoak if u believe everything manfred allowed you to read then ur a sheep with no common sense. Just because gerrit cole and Kemp didn’t snitch( I applaud him for it) doesn’t mean more didn’t happen and who else is gonna tell about what happened in 2019. They all still there. Do u believe Barry bonds didn’t do steroids cause he said he didn’t and no one has come forward with any “proof” of it?
shawn hemp
Andy Meyer u right u ain’t nada never been nada. No one give af about you except these other bishs who are just like you. Ur soft always gonna be soft. U gonna marry a fat girl and she can leave u and take half ur money cause u a scrub.
oldoak33
Sure Shawn, but to suggest the commissioners report is “damage control” is dismissive of its contents. It’s extremely damning stuff in those pages.
I’m not sure what you’re taking about with Bonds, Kemp, and Cole. They’re three separate people with three different experiences.
Bonds cheated
Kemp didn’t cheat
Cole wasn’t there in 2017.
shawn hemp
For sure but I still believe they were cheating well into 2019 playoffs. When everyone picked up on the banging trash cans they went to a more elaborate scheme of buzzers imo. No proof in the report. It actually refutes it but that doesn’t mean it did happen. The players and owners keep pointing to it like it tells the entire truth when it doesn’t and just makes them seem like even bigger aholes
AndyMeyer
Whatever you say dude
shawn hemp
I’m sorry Andy Meyer. I’m sure ur a good person. That’s not a bad thing to be. Don’t change. Ever. Stay golden pony boy
AndyMeyer
I know right where to file your suggestions..
beknighted
It annoys me that Rob Manfred cares more about punishing people who talk about his weak ass idea of “punishing” the cheaters and punishing anyone who throws at the cheaters than he cares about actually punishing the cheaters himself.
bkbk
I think Manfred is a clown, but his new interview shines light on why he didnt punish the players. Essentially, because he wrote a cheating warning memo, it would be hard to prove lunlhow and hinch showed the player and the MLBPA would have a clear grievance.
All that said, I think he should have done it anyway. It would create an incredible tension between the fans and the cheating players to agree publically. Also, it would honestly keep this intrigue in the news, something baseball has not done well.
Mystic Rhythms
I am all for pushing the union into the position of having to defend the cheating players in front of all the other players in the league. In this case I think it would have been too easy for the union to win and that would have been an even bigger black eye for the owners.
Koamalu
The team was punished. Its over. It hasn’t been possible to do since 2017.
looiebelongsinthehall
It’s not nearly over. The lawsuits from those who legally bet and lost are just starting. Depending on jurisdiction, statute of limitations and areas which allow for punitive damages may be interesting to watch if the suits are allowed to proceed forward. Imagine if there was forced testimony? Legalized betting was very limited when the PED situation exploded. This was team cheating.
BobbyDynamite
The lawsuits are gonna be a blessing to the Astros, just wait and see.
the lawsuits will pry open the unreleased portions of Manfred’s investigation and that is going to implicate most of the other 29 teams. That is why you don’t see genuine remorse from the Astros. They’ve got no reason to be remorseful.
Sure, the Astros broke a rule and should be punished. But the teams that broke that same rule should receive similar punishment. All this “Orange Team Bad” nonsense has gotten way overblown.
Trying to enforce the current rule, as written, is going to be a lost cause as cameras and communications equipment gets smaller and easier to hide.
Better to just get with the times and make in-game, live use of video/electronics fair game. Put the burden on catchers/pitchers to conceal their signs better. If they want microphones, earpieces or other gadgets to help them do that, let them have it.
beknighted
It annoys me that Rob Manfred cares more about punishing people who talk about his weak ass idea of “punishing” the cheaters and punishing anyone who throws at the cheaters than he cares about actually punishing the cheaters himself.
BuyBuyMets
^^^^^^^^^^^
This
arc89
If altuve is such a honest player wouldn’t he come out and admit the team cheated and call out the players that cheated? Oh wait No he cant do that because he cheated too.
takeitback
I get what you’re saying, but no one on any professional sports team is going to come out and throw their team under the bus. It’s not going to happen. And really, is an unreasonable thing to ask a player to do.
arc89
Its like politics nobody wants to stand up by themselves. Correa is better off keeping his mouth shut because nobody believes him unless you are a astros fan making excuses.
Fallito
Corea already did. Even throw himself under the bus.
takeitback
Yeah, I thought he was saying why didn’t why didn’t Altuve do it in 2017.
Altuve and Reddick have both apologized for the cheating in 2017, but according to Correa neither of them participated in the sign stealing. He even mentioned Tony Kemp didn’t participate either. If you take what Correa said and look at the stats from the guy that broke down every game in 2017, this looks to be accurate. But people don’t want to look at facts, they want to run with rumors and fake twitter accounts……..but only with Astros. Heaven forbid we believe the same twitter account saying the Torres used a buzzer also.
Koamalu
@arc89 Or you have a brain.
Most people with a brain are A) smart enough to find out the facts. B) Have long ago realized the Astros were not the only team CAUGHT stealing signs. C) Know that it’s not possible to do anymore and has not been since 2017 so they moved on.
Why are you still stuck in 2017?
oldoak33
signstealingscandal.com/players/
Filter for José Altuve, and find one game with more than two bangs the entire game for Altuve. I went thru several players, and can confidently say there is error in the data, and this account of Altuve not participating is easily valid.
julyn82001
No way Jose… Altuve will have to have another great season like the one he supposedly had in 2017 to earn back some fans’ respect if at all…
DarkSide830
you mean like all the ones he had in the years prior?
ThePentaverate
Yep. Altuve batted close to .400 in his final minor league season. It’s not like 2017 was the one suspicious outlier for an otherwise mediocre career. He’s pretty much a generational hitter, a genuinely nice person, and wasn’t cheating in 2017 (at least according to the data). But hey, Chapman hung his slider so Altuve must be wearing a buzzer and sucks at hitting and at life in general.
wordonthestreet
Well if someone else hit the homer there would be no video of him begging not yo have his jersey ripped off, clutching it for deal life, and being the ONLY player to immediately run into the clubhouse to change
Koamalu
He wasn’t the only player that went into the clubhouse for a championship shirt. They all did.
Buzzers couldn’t help since there was no live feed available with which to steal signs in real time. You can wear a buzzer all you want since there is no way to signal to the batter what pitch is coming.
Why are some fans so ignorant?
oldoak33
The idea is that the Astros had an unapproved camera hidden somewhere, the feed being monitored by someone outside the clubhouse, because there were multiple “monitors” in the clubhouses during the season and certainly heightened security and monitoring during the playoffs. The league was aware of the Astros 2017 scheme, and were trying to move past it.
ThePentaverate
Koa… Good post. Altuve was definitely not the only player who went into the clubhouse. But someone out there said he was the only one, and the crowd wanted to believe that, so that’s now the narrative. Problem is it isn’t the truth.
brickd
Best to keep your mouth shut than run it and prove you are a fool, Carlos…
Koamalu
Ahhh like your post did here?
pasha2k
Yes Altuve didn’t use trash cans he used a buzzer!!!!!
sr37016
Not sure if anyone has seen the article about body language weighing in but seems quite telling.
nj.com/yankees/2020/02/jose-altuve-astros-not-tell…
jaysfansince1977
You know what, It sure would be nice to be talking about spring training and the battles there, instead of some cheater defending another cheater! The Asteriks deserve no air time at all
bob9988 2
Honestly, as a fan of the M’s, who have been getting destroyed for years by the Asteriks (great name!), I’m perfectly content with dragging them through the mud for a while longer. We’ve still got a year or two before we’re relevant again, so in the mean time, I’ll enjoy watching The Asteriks get beaned every other at bat.
seatownsavage
M’s fan here too and I 100% feel the same way. Lol
kam3hameha
bob9988 That’s always a good way to handle things – with violence. How about instead of inciting violence, teams actually go out there and try to beat the Astros? How about your team – the Mariners – go out there and strike them out every other at bat rather than hitting them? Oh, wait.. That’s right, it’s because your team sucks and doesn’t have the talent necessary. Have fun watching all the runs being put up by the ‘Stros if your team actually listens to you and “beans” every other at-bat.
Fuck Me Bitch
Someone commenting at MLB Trade Rumors is not “inciting violence.” The players, managers, and coaches have their own agenda and they’re not reading our comments.
kam3hameha
YouSayGoodbyeISayHello You may want to look up what “incite” means. It means to encourage. My point was that if teams are going out there and hitting our batters, as bob and others have suggested should happen, that that would be inciting violence to the rest of the league. There are many people encouraging teams to go out there and hit our players. Obviously it doesn’t matter, because teams aren’t going to listen to a bunch of commenters, but still. It’s absolutely ridiculous that fans actually want our players hit in the head by 90+ mph fastballs over the cheating scandal. So we should put lives in danger because a team cheated?? Instead, how about teams go out there to win and embarrass the Astros. If they truly want to get back at them, that’s the best way to do it.
Koamalu
Angels fan here and I find fans that want to talk about something that happened in 2017 and was impossible to do in 2019 to be incredibly annoying and proving how stupid those fans are.
But hey, you keep on talking about stupid stuff. It is a free country.
looiebelongsinthehall
I have an idea. PPV at a nominal $5 a pop with proceeds going to charity. MLB needs to make all give back their championship rings on national TV PPV, MLB records the returned ring and hands each in return a receipt. Humiliation is the best equalizer.
wordonthestreet
This is more interesting than discussing some pitchers side session. There is nothing to talk about until the ST games begin
Theghostoftycobb
I don’t believe anything cheaters say.
Stevil
Oh, I believe that Correa told far more than he intended.
He suggested every hitter was cheating apart from Altuve. Previously, we had heard that not all the Astros’ hitters were cheating. His comments contradict that.
Then there’s the buzzer issue.
Altuve told Rosenthal two conflicting stories. One was that his wife wouldn’t approve of his Jersey being removed, and the other was that he’s shy. Both contradict his own social media posts, willingly revealing skin.
Now Correa suggests there was an unfinished tattoo, which should have came from Altuve himself if that were true. What Correa did was fuel the belief that Altuve was wearing a buzzer. The stories don’t line up. It would be fun to see this tattoo, wouldn’t it!?
Further, the players denying the use of buzzers will bury all of them if/when more damning proof comes out. Correa unknowingly threw the entire team and himself under the bus.
dodgerskingsfan
I saw a pic of altuve shirtless and there’s no tattoo on him. At All…..
Fuck Me Bitch
I did too, but it depends on when it was taken. I think there will be no resolution to the buzzer accusations, unfortunately. .
Koamalu
You saw a picture of Altuve’s back while he was shirtless? I am calling BS on that. Post it.
Koamalu
You have to be pretty dense to think that there were buzzers when there was no live feed from which to steal the signs in real time. What were they buzzing them with? A pizza order.
The pitch was thrown before anyone in the ballpark including the players and coaches in the dugout can see the signs from the delayed video feed.
oldoak33
They’re not conflicting. His wife didn’t like him ripping Altuve’s shirt off, and if that wasn’t enough, he had an unfinished tattoo he didn’t want millions of people to see.
Not complicated at all
tomjoadsghost
It’s good to see other players so upset about this. Usually sports rally around the sport. Astros messed up every step of this.
RunDMC
I love that Correa’s defense was “Hey look, they found out and started making it harder on us to cheat — so it wasn’t that easy to win while cheating…that counts for sumpin, right???”
beantownmassacre
As a pats fan, Houston less is more. Shut up and just play. The more you talk about this the worse it gets
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Honor among thieves.
Touching.
StPeteStingRays
I agree. This subject is very deflating.
larrybrett3305
Absolutely, agree. It’s better to take the air out of the argument. *giggles*
shortytallz
From one cheating org to another. how nice
Ralphie
So now it’s a tatto, what other bull are they gonna come out with. I can’t believe this dude says they won it fair an square. They better hope they have a good year this season.
higgy5220
I can’t believe the Astros are trying to claim the moral high ground on all of this.
Astros44
Admitting they got an unfair advantage is moral
coachbrad
But without accepting responsibility or giving up what you stole. So…no.
Astros44
They took responsibility for cheating in 2017. If evidence came out proving they used it in the playoffs then they would’ve addressed that too. Theyve addressed and taken responsibility for what was proven. They haven’t taken responsibility for allegations without supporting evidence…
arc89
It was going on longer than 2017. Oakland contacted MLB offices before the playoffs because they knew houston cheated. If you are a REAL baseball fan you would praise the players that came out and told the truth instead of players making excuses like correa, Altuve, Bergman, Verlander, and Reddick
cleve1969
Astro fan sine they began in 1962 (called the Colt 45’s the first three years of existence) and I’ll remain an Astro fan for life. The commissioner investigated the allegations, took appropriate actions and the team has apologized and made the necessary changes … you crybabies need to dry your tears and grow up
budgreen420
Your team is garbage. A bunch of liars and cheaters.
MLB would be much better off without the team that brought us:
Tanking for draft picks
Hiring domestic abusers
Mocking Asians
And straight up cheating to win their only tainted title.
What a complete embarassment.
yogineely
No ones crying here, we just don’t believe what he says because he’s a proven cheater, just like altuve is. I honestly feel bad for the Houston fans, not in a sarcastic way at all, but why are you guys having to defend these guys who can’t even defend themselves?
looiebelongsinthehall
Not the first. How many including me believe Papi used? Remember Andy Pettitte? Only admitted because he got caught twice. Both appear to be nice people but for whatever people reason in my view made poor choices. List is incredibly long.
sacball
The A’s complained to MLB in August of 2018 and August of 2019 about the Asterisk’s cheatin’ ways and it took 3 players, only one who gave his name to go to MLB themselves to get this uncovered…2017 wasn’t the only year they cheated…
shawn hemp
Go to a Oakland As game wearing astros gear talking that ish bud. Bet u get humbled real quick
rawbar
So, cleve1969, you support cheating?
WarrenSpahn
Asterisks fans can live in their dream world that they won a WS in 2017
everyone else has a different opinion…
takeitback
The banner is still flying!
Fuck Me Bitch
And trust in fairness is sinking.
cc10cc
cleve1969 – I admire your loyalty, but until at least some of these players are punished, and the owner serves at least a suspension, this fiasco isn’t over.
douglasb
You go enjoy your Asterisks. They are despised by most people.
DockEllisDee
Admitting your team ran a complete scam and relinquishing the title and pennants won from said scam is moral. Correa is just kicking the can down the road. Everyone hates the Astros, best be contrite or everyone will start hating the fanbase too. Seriously how can you defend the pennants and title.
DVail1979
How can you just give up the title though? They cant just hand it over and make the Dodgers the champs .. oud have to go back and replay the entire 2017 postseason over … with the Astros in it with the 2017 rosters and see who wins again … The Red Sox (ironically) the Yankees and the Dodgers all could claim to have been robbed
Fuck Me Bitch
You vacate the title. No one has it. It stands empty, with an asterisk beside it. It’s really not that complicated. The whole baseball community would breathe a sigh of relief if that were to happen!
And then Astros’s fans would regain the good graces of fans everywhere. Because, after all, it’s not your fault that your team cheated.
solaris602
Justifying and minimizing. The more they talk the less respect I have for them.
Deploy Eloy
He probably can’t, which is why he wore the buzzer . The video is clear as day.
solaris602
The truth is self-evident. A lie requires a sales and marketing campaign, and it really sounds like Correa is engaging in the latter.
DTD_ATL
There’s a video of a buzzer being worn? Provide a link please or stop lying.
delete
Do a YouTube search for “Robinson Chirinos buzzer” and watch the two minute slo mo video of Chirinos dropping an illegal device from his bat. The fact that Altuve didn’t want his shirt ripped off after his walk off homeruns in the ALCS is also highly suspicious, and his family excuse that being shirtless is against his religious belief is a lie given that he has a shirtless pic for the world to see on Instagram.
Astros44
I watched over 100+ games last season. I watched the game sometime around August 2019 when Altuve walked off and had his shirt ripped off and chalk thrown in his hair. That whole week after, the commentators discussed Altuves wife talking to correa’s wife about how she doesnt want Altuve shirt ripped off like that again. You say highly suspicious and I say highly consistent
delete
Since she doesn’t seem to care about the Instagram photo, it’s more likely that she was aware of the Astros use of technology to cheat and didn’t want her husband caught and exposed. I would have given the Astros the benefit of the doubt a year or two ago, but we have learned enough now that trusting them would be incredibly foolish.
yogineely
Highly consistent as far as cheating? I agree
VonPurpleHayes
This was believed to be the MLB sticker. There were videos clearing Chirinos. At the same time, you have every right to be dubious after this whole mess.
bhambrave
Take off those Stros colored glasses and take another look.
VegasSDfan
That video is highly suspicious. The more we see and hear the more we are starting to be able to prove they used electronic devices.
The tapping on the end of the bat, was a signal to use the secondary signaling, as the primary one failed.
delete
@VonPurpleHayes, An MLB sticker? Are you out of your mind? It was a bulky metal object that literally bounced when it hits the ground. And after Chirinos recovered the metal object he had to remove and hide the piece of tape that had been holding the metal object to his bat. Wishful thinking on your part, or intentionally misleading people?
oldoak33
My God, dude, no one is putting a buzzer on a bat if they can hide it under clothing. That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.
arc89
prove he wasn’t wearing a buzzer. He was wearing something because it shows he was hiding something under his shirt.
oldoak33
Hey Arc,
Prove he was wearing a buzzer under his shirt.
See what I did there?
prov356
You can’t prove a negative, Arc.
jonesadoug
BS. How can we believe anything that comes out of an Astros mouth. I lost all respect for all of them including Altuve. No HOF for him. Asa baseball fan I feel they just slapped us in the fa e. All players involved should of been banned or at least suspended for a year. This is bad as the 1919 Black Sox scandal Enough. I’m done with MLB until this Astro mess is cleaned up. Too bad Dusty if they get to play they deserve everything they get. To the ribs, head, or whatever.
cc10cc
Yes, this is as bad as the 1919 Black Sox scandal – no Astros players were punished for cheating – yet Shoeless Joe Jackson, who didn’t cheat or throw any games (.375 WS) is banned for eternity.
douglasb
Joe took money. That is enough for him to be banned. That seems fair to me.
The Ghost of Bobby Bonilla
Not listening to this guy who will sit out 80 games because of minor boo-boos.
Not a single likable or believable guy on that ream.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
“We didn’t wear “buzzers”!!!! (We called them “ringers”)”
If they want to sell that line of bull, they need a better story for the Altuve jersey thing.
It was a clearly conspicuous piece of evidence that they might be cheating at the time. Knowing what we know now, it’s suspect beyond the point of giving the benefit of the doubt to known cheaters.
southpawjb
It’s typical human behavior to admit to things with proof where you are obviously guilty but to keep lying about additional things you did where incontrovertible proof does not exist. I see this all the time in my professional career.
oldoak33
Dang Southpaw
How bad is the traffic going to Langley everyday?
VegasSDfan
They didn’t wear buzzers, they were on the batts.
jdgoat
Inb4 some smart guy tries to pull Altuves Instagram pic from July to prove he’s lying.
saintguitar
Is there a premium given to a player whose team won the World Series for the MVP consideration? You bet.
Whether he wished for it or not, the cheating happened and he did nothing to stop it. He benefitted from it one way or another.
The Astros should, voluntarily, give up the WS title because it will always come with the tainted image of the scandal and at least it will be one way to redeem themselves.
baseballbaby
There is no premium, MVP votes are submitted before the postseason starts
jbs32
Sure, then the inflated stats from the guys hitting before and after him cheating. Either way the mans stats and MVP bid were inflated by the cheating even if he didn’t participate directly.
saintguitar
Yes, but you get a pretty good idea which teams will advance to the playoffs and which team will not even before the postseason starts.
The votes tends to favor players who are on the teams that advance to the playoffs.
Fuck Me Bitch
No, I don’t think so. it’s pretty consistently linked with WAR nowadays.
oldoak33
Saintguitar
I know, that’s why Jacob Degrom won the Cy Young over Scherzer (who was in the World Series). Because, playoffs and stuff.
Bluemarlin528
If he defends Altuve then he should defend Jim Crane, the 17 title and the stealing of signs.
Appalachian_Outlaw
To me, Crane looks the worst of all out of all of this. I mean what the players did was wrong, and they’re answering for it, and paying the price. Crane is basically trying to play stupid, and doing a poor job. I mean take some ownership. Maybe he didn’t physically bang a can, or invent the system; but he hired the people that did.
afsooner02
Who gets hit more this year….correra or altuve?
jdgoat
Easily going off the board and slamming the over on Bregman. If anything, guys might have a bit of respect for Altuve for not participating in it.
yogineely
No one believes he didn’t participate
yogineely
Well I guess correa but other than that no one believes him
jdgoat
The stats show he didn’t. The only games he had a bang had 1 or 2 the whole game. It doesn’t add up
yogineely
The stats show he in fact did participate.
takeitback
Not sure you know how stats work. There were 24 bangs for the entire season for Altuve. That’s 2% of the pitches. If you knew anything about stats you would no that there is a 2-3% margin for error.
In this case that is especially true. The guy that came up with those stats went back and watched every pitch from the 2017 season. If he heard anything that remotely sounded like a bang, he counted it as a bang. It could have been noise from the stands, something else in the dugout, or someone hitting the trash can without his permission, as Correa said happened on occasion.
So the stats actually prove that Altuve, Reddick, and Kemp didn’t participate…….as Correa stated.
rocky7
And if you believe Altuve didn’t participate, then you also believe that Little Jose didn’t know a slider was coming from Chappy to walk off the game….you know that pitch he hit like he studied for it all day long!
So now not only are they Cheaters, but liars also!
DTD_ATL
Chapman’s go to pitch is the slider. You don’t have to cheat to know that. Literally anyone who pays any attention to the game knows it.
jdgoat
It’s amazing that you have to keep explaining this to Yankee fans. I don’t know if they were stealing signs in 2019 or if he knew that pitch was coming. But Yankee fans so desperately want to use that outcome as evidence. Chapman has one of, if not the best fastball in the game. That situation was tailor made for Altuve to do what he did. Wait until he throws a hanging meatball off speed pitch. Yet somehow doing exactly what literally any baseball player would try to do proves he knew the pitch?
I get people are mad and I am too. I just can’t stand when people lie and make up their own evidence when it comes to this. Do you really think you’re doing any good when you accuse Josh Reddick of wearing a buzzer because you see confetti on him or just blindly believe a fake twitter account?
yogineely
We all can’t stand when people lie either, that’s the whole point
shawn hemp
Where are the banging of a trash can videos for the Yankees? Hint there isn’t any. No one says it’s illegal to try to get the other teams signs. But relaying that information via trash cans and buzzer in real time is illegal. Astros fans are so delusional. Quit pointing the finger at other teams who didn’t take it to the extreme that the astriks did
Rudy Zolteck
You know there are ways to steal signs without the trash cans, right? It doesn’t strike you as weird that Beltran was with the Yankees before and after the Astros? Lol get over yourself. They’re not saying NYY used the exact same scheme.
MoRivera 1999
Probably the only HR ever hit by an Astro off Chapman. In that situation by Altuve… Riiiight.
No it doesn’t sutprise me Beltran was with the Yankees. It wasn’t his idea. There’s no evidence that the NYY “used the same exact scheme.”
Rudy Zolteck
“It hasn’t been done before” is not a valid answer even if it’s true. “In that situation” is not a good answer at all because it’s been explained to you several times that Altuve would naturally sit slider after Chapman had been wild with the fastball all series, including to Springer the AB before. And ok, not the same scheme, but Beltrán did play a huge part in this and it is logical to believe he was onto this idea in NY before and after his Astros tenure. To deny that is a huge reach, like he magically was a saint before and then repented immediately after.
takeitback
Well, there’s no video of any of the Astros using a buzzer but it doesn’t keep idiots like you from saying they used them.
Eatdust666
If you really believe that Altuve didn’t participate in it, you are extremely delusional.
jdgoat
Two things:
Why do the statistics not add up? The guys who seemed to be apart of it had percentages in the 20% range. Why did Altuve Stall out at 2 man?
And why would Correa go out of his way to specifically single out Reddick, Altuve, and Kemp as guys who didn’t use it?
Obviously I don’t know if he did or didn’t, but it certainly seems like he didn’t, all things considered. I don’t think it’s a delusional take. I’m not just going to blindly defend or bury a guy without actually looking at the situation.
cc10cc
I’m impressed with your analysis (including your earlier post), so it would seem that Altuve didn’t cheat – but did he cheat in a clutch situation (vs. Chapman)? Unfortunately, if he earned that HR, it will always be in a cloud of controversy.
shortytallz
Bregpenis
denistaylor
Something tells me Correa will have more back problems this year as his guilt starts to weigh on his conscience more and people call him out for his lies that attempt to cover lies. First there will be brushbacks and beanballs for individual Astros, then as players get suspended they will opt for full-on team fights which will be too difficult to assess for suspensions and so allow the punishment to occur.
gmenfan
My bet is on bruised ribs.
T_Rexx2
#showusthetats
stevecohenMVP
good grief
gmenfan
At some point, the Astros organization will realize that by continuing to talk, you’re only making things worse. You cheated and got caught, own it. By painting yourselves as the victims of public suspicion, you’re proving how little responsibility you’re actually taking for this. Just shut up already !
Vin Scully
Lying liars gotta lie.
Down with OBP
Did he also give a ham-fisted explanation why Altuve then went down to change shirts immediately? I’m not saying they used buzzers but man they seem to make everything worse every time any of them open their mouths.
coachbrad
Just surrender the title and the rings already. Everyone knows you didn’t earn it. By saying that Altuve “was the one guy” means everyone else was using it.
Vacate the title.
Vin Scully
Altuve didn’t want anyone to see his tattoo of a trashcan holding a bat.
VegasSDfan
The tattoo of an electronic device taped to his chest. The guy is a fraud.
tigers22 2
Their punishment was immunity and the ability to keep making millions of dollars. Thumbs up Manfred. Jim Crane should be forced to sell his team.
rawbar
They can’t force him to sell, but the other owners CAN marginalize him at meetings etc.
Also, it would be great to see the other 29 teams look very skeptically at Astros players when they hit FA. Why, if you are a GM, would you want a guy with that kind of moral character on your team?
MLBTRS
It needs to go well beyond selling the team; they need to follow up with a fire sale and total rebuild from the ground up.
SashaBanksFan
Donald Sterling was forced to sell the Clippers bc of his horrible comments and deeds. I know different league and situation but there is precedent
Fuck Me Bitch
And Marge Schott was forced to sell the Reds.
Rudy Zolteck
Rangers were happy to take Chirinos, Yankees took Cole knowing he was in on it and refused to speak, and the Dodgers took Mookie Betts and David Price. So yeah fans can speculate but teams don’t seem to think this way.
Forcing someone to get traded just sounds like what an 11 year old would come up with on MLB The Show. Didn’t expect it from the grandpas here.
rawbar
Cole wasn’t on the 2017 Astros. Or did you forget that part?
Rudy Zolteck
Everyone in this thread would tell you it carried into 2018, and then the yankee fans really want it to be 2019 too.
takeitback
Yeah, going to be interesting to see Yankee fans reaction to Cole’s comments when he gets asked about 2018 and 2019 and he says the Astros weren’t cheating.
Guess they will call him a liar and cheater too.
Also can’t wait to see what the Red Sox investigation reveals. That Dodgers locker room could get interesting with Betts and Price there now. Is Betts going to get pegged during batting practice? Or is Bellinger going to act like everything is okay since he now plays for the Dodgers?
kenphelps44
It is funny how people on Twitter cited Correa’s intelligence and his SAT scores as if that was some sort of defense of Altuve. Let me remind people using this as a defense that his manager, AJ Hinch, went to Stanford.
realgone2
I work with people with high level degrees. Some of the most unintelligent people I’ve ever worked with.
MLBTRS
Yeah, he’s in great company: Bernie Madoff holds a degree from Hofstra and Hillary Clinton has a degree from Wellesley and Yale.
One Bite Hotdog
“José Altuve was one guy who didn’t use the trash can. He preferred a wireless buzzing device”
realgone2
Do the Astros even have a PR department? If they do they need to fire them. Their PR department needs to sit these clown down and tell them to be contrite and stop running off at the mouth.,
douglasb
they need to change the team name to Houston Asterisks.
tigerdoc616
I believe Correa is telling the truth. And there is evidence (as presented in this article) that Altuve did not receive any significant benefit from the sign stealing, whether or not he actually said not to do it for him to his teammates. There is no evidence that buzzers were used. Not wanting to take your shirt off is not evidence. No video conclusively shows buzzers were used. And since the players were granted immunity, they have no reason to deny buzzers were used if they were in fact used.
But that matters little to many people. Hell, we have people who think the moon landing was faked, that the earth is flat, climate change is a hoax, vaccines cause autism despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. So this whole scandal is ripe for conspiracy theorists to run amok.
realgone2
And you have no evidence that he didn’t use one. So, here we are.
DTD_ATL
The burden of proof is on the people saying buzzers were used. The trash cans and cameras were proven to be used, plenty of evidence. It’s only hearsay about the buzzers.
southpawjb
Which is exactly why they have admitted to the former and not the latter. If no concrete proof exists they are going to keep lying.
takeitback
But why? They had immunity and literally nothing to lose by coming clean. They also have nothing to gain by covering it up.
And with more and more players leaving the franchise, it would be down right stupid to keep trying to keep this quiet. Especially when presented with an opportunity to come clean without facing punishment.
It also seems likely that the players that left the franchise would have told investigators about the buzzers since they wouldn’t mind making the Astros punishment worse, while ensuring they didn’t have to face the Astros using the technology on them.
But guess what, no evidence was found of buzzers existing. So Cole, Fiers, Morton, Kuechel, Giles, etc must have lied to investigators to protect the Astros. That makes sense to you? All are pitchers that have to face the Astros on a regular basis, and they are going to lie about the buzzers?
Sorry, I don’t believe that for a second.
Rallyshirt
This argument passes if say someone stole your pencil in grade school, but on the MLB stage it doesn’t work. Getting away with a crime, or perceivably coming clean has much more weight attached as the crime itself increases magnitude to those affected by it.
The Astros are thinking they can carry this weight and function in the game they might have destroyed. They can’t. They are begging for punishment, even while they claim some innocence.
As for the pitchers. It is possible they didn’t know about any buzzers.
Rudy Zolteck
Destroying the game on the level of PEDs implies multiple organizations are doing it, and this is believable if we say that trends have happened through the years all the way back to spitballing. It would be a PR nightmare but it’s a way to truly vindicate people saying the Astros are the only culprits.
ffrhb14Sox
I have a hard time believing a buzzer could be used without a catcher or umpire noticing but not admitting to it means nothing even with immunity. There is a thing called pride, has any Astro even come out and admitted they got the trash can signals we know existed?
sdpitts02
I agree with everything you just said! All of Bellingers comments were because he was being a cry baby about it and not letting it go and none of them were even right like you said Altuve didn’t even like the garbage can banging and I believe that and he didn’t steal nothing from Judge. and the world series 3 of the 4 games the astros won were away so how did they steal it? There also was no evidence found that a buzzer was used so why do people think there was it’s stupid. well said @tigerdoc616
VinScullysSon
Wrong. They won two games at home and the extra inning game they won 13-12. They kept coming back every time the Dodgers scored. This is the game that most of us fans believe made the difference due to their cheating.
Rudy Zolteck
Ok so no team ever mounted a comeback without cheating? Little harsh, lol
rawbar
There is evidence, given the prior history of cheating. It’s called “circumstantial” evidence, but it is evidence nonetheless.
Fg-3
Because they got immunity now they can deny individuals that cheated or not.. that’s just pure bs. The whole team apologized… if there were people that were innocent than why use a blanket of immunity?? Now this guy Correa is the only one talking. He’s full of it.
sdpitts02
I think that what he said was true about Altuve and fans are just disrespecting him even though he didn’t do anything. Like he said they didn’t use buzzers in 2019 just like the commissioners report they found 0 evidence. Altuve stole nothing from Judge and the Astros did win the 2017 world series fairly. if you look they won 3 of the games away so that means they lost all the home ones which was where they used it. Bellinger is just a young player who sounded very imature when Correa was right he had a terrible world series if he was better he could have helped his team.
coachbrad
Literally nothing you said here is defensible.
realgone2
This is a really laughable comment.
“Bellinger is just a young player who sounded very imature when Correa was right he had a terrible world series if he was better he could have helped his team.”
Hands down one of the stupidest comments ever posted on this site in it’s entire history. You deserve some kind of award for this.
yogineely
I agree and there’s a lot to choose from
justme
No they split on the road and won 2 to 1 at home …and to further that point in the prior series that got them there they won all but one game at home.. but nice try
AllinTX
Either you’re a troll or one of the biggest jokes of commentators on this site EVER.
douglasb
Houston Asterisks. Just own it.
braves2
even if this is all true Altuve was aware of what was going on and didnt stop the team from doing it so he’s just as guilty as anyone else
DTD_ATL
True it’s guilt by association but how can he stop the entire team from participating? His word doesn’t trump the coaches.
Broken Jar of Hot Wing Sauce
If Rob Manfail just did the right thing and suspended these clowns, we wouldn’t have to keep hearing these lies. They stole a title, kept their bonuses, and have no suspensions or consequences. They don’t also get to keep unremorsefully defending their cheating.
solaris602
I look forward to seeing what kind of impact this scandal will have on the players in free agency. First up will be George Springer after this season.
yogineely
Or on judge and whit and the dodgers in arbitration first
takeitback
Hopefully other teams don’t want the “cheaters” and the best offer they have is from the Astros.
coachbrad
If Houston had any class they’d send a rookie or a free agent signing to the ASG.
neurogame
Actually, the ASG is at Dodger Stadium this year so there is that nugget.
The ASG IS at Dodger Stadium this year. Everyone should vote an Astro in at all 8 possible positions, regardless if they deserve it, just to f* with the players and get them to see the reaction of fans. The decibels of booing want reach an all-time high.
hockeyjohn
The fact that the Astros players received no punishment due to their cheating scandal was a huge mistake for Manfred and major league baseball. Other players are outraged, deservedly so, and now opposing teams are likely to use a few Astro players as target practice which will quickly become another black eye for baseball. Manfred has opened up another set of problems which he will likely make more wrong solutions. Perhaps, Manfred’s plan is to get the MLBPA arguing among themselves rather than with him weakening their bargaining power for the next CBA. Manfred needs to go in my opinion. He is ruining major league and minor league baseball for many fans.
My opinion is also the Astro players need to sincerely apologize and then shut their mouths rather than continuing to make the problems mush worse.
Appalachian_Outlaw
I don’t think the players are totally getting a free pass here. The baseball season is a grind, and every city they hit, they’re going to answer for this all year long, on the field, and off. Odds are that wears on them, and I expect they’ll have a pretty tough year.
I was never for suspensions. They should’ve been stripped of their title though. Some guys might not have used the can, we don’t know. Never will. The cheating aided the team as a whole though, and that’s undeniable.
Aoe3
Nothing changes the fact Houston overwhelmingly cheated in 2017 and to me sounds like thru 2019 as well..
Hope some Astros hitters get beaned cuz they deserve it. Its going going to be a LONG year for them.
richard dangler
The Astros shouldn’t apologize for anything. In fact they should double down they just say “look we won a ring”. Stop whimpering to the media and other players. Fans outside of Houston and LA don’t care about this at all.
hockeyjohn
Boy, Richard, have you misread the current situation. It is more than LA fans that are upset. There were other teams that were cheated on during the season and in the playoffs. Doubling down on their lies is just throwing gasoline on the fire and making the problem much more severe.
VonPurpleHayes
This isn’t true. I live in NY and the sports media here is all over it. Philly radio was also all over it. This is a huge deal around all of baseball, and other teams are outraged.
The problem is, due to the investigation, players are immune to punishment. So there’s no point talking about it. The guys who cheated will forever go unpunished. They will never gain their creditable back even if they win the next 3 World Series without cheating. If MLB dealt out 30 game suspensions to some of the players involved, this could possible go away, but as it stands it’s just going to be a PR mess.
VonPurpleHayes
Ugh. I cannot type on my phone.
Various typos throughout. Apologies.
*creditability, possibly
cc10cc
Thanks for nailing this – until at least some of the players who cheated get punished, this shouldn’t go away – and maybe it won’t –
Appalachian_Outlaw
That’s one idea, sure. If they went that route, there also best not be any whimpering and whining out of Houston when they get beaned and spiked all year long, either. Just saying.
douglasb
you could not be more wrong. every baseball city cares. and the Asterisks look like idiots the more they try and deny cheating. just admit you cheated and return the rings and trophy.
Eatdust666
Not surprised as Correa is even more of a liar than Altuve and Bregman are.
Senioreditor
Just wait, a club house attendant, a bat boy or some other disinterested scorned employee will sing like a bird soon and we’ll know everything. It’s only a matter of time and time is not in their side. I fir one hope they’re dusted in every series this season and if a few happen to dent a rib or two, so be it. Correa, you’re up first and I hope it leaves a mark.
yogineely
Or be the scapegoat goat like a couple weeks ago it came out it was an intern
Emrehtoeht
Even IF Altuve didn’t “use” the trash cans, the guys who got on base and scored giving him RBI did cheat. The guys hitting behind him who were “hot” could have caused him to get better pitches to hit tainting his BA and HR numbers. The hits they got allowing Altuve to score makes his run totals tainted. Regardless of his active participation, the participation of his teammates affected his production, which should void his MVP award.
opranger
Correa is full of BS, the team is a pack of cheaters and liars! FU the Astro’s are punks and should all be permanently banned from baseball!
Beldar J. Conehead
Those orange throwback jerseys would go well with pants on fire.
VegasSDfan
* Reading Correas words makes me think everything he said was false.
I’m not convinced he is telling the truth with his statement.
Clayton Russell
Even if this is true, Hinch and Altuve and even fiers should have said something while it was happening.
802Ghost
At this point, they really should stop talking about it. They’re making it worse for themselves, they’re not keeping stories straight and it’s only making fans and other players hate them more.
They cheated, they got caught and people are pissed. Sit back and hope something else comes along to do more damage to some other team.
MLBTRS
Regardless of the fact that it’s difficult enough to hit a batting practice pitch, much less a 90 mph slider, even if you know it’s coming, once cheating is in the mix, ALL credibility is gone. All pretense to being a great team is gone. The only way this franchise regains any credibility is to sell the team, hold a fire sale and start from scratch.
Bluesman99026
So very sick and tired of this ……on to spring!! The unfinished tattoo is just a schematic for a new center field camera / buzzer device anyway.
Haha….love you guys…have a great year!
VonPurpleHayes
Who gets a tattoo in the middle of a playoff series? Wait until the offseason. That’s the real story here.
shoghi
Crane should just shut up and punish all of the members of the 2017 Astros team. Suspend them without pay. Take his lumps with a Triple A lineup. MLB should vacate the Astros 2017 World Series Title. All individual awards Astro players received should be forfeited and their names removed from the record book and trophy inscriptions. I urge fans who attend away games of the Astros to boo the team. I hope they finish last in their division for many years. Their actions were pathetic and should not be tolerated.
longtimeyankfan
Guilty or not guilty does not matter. Every Houston player and team awards from 2017 – 2019 should be forfeited. Maybe this will act as a deterrent for future cheaters!
MLBTRS
Bart Simpson could have done a better job of denial than these guys.
southpawjb
Deny, demand proof, and make counter accusations
Bluesman99026
It is too bad we could never get back to old school ball. When getting an “edge” on the competition meant getting your butt up earlier and hitting the gym harder…or taking more BP…or flies…or grounders….or working on your pitches. NOT resorting to the medicine chest or this nonsense.
Miklo916
Everybody acting like steal sign hasn’t been going since 1900s get over it.
MLBTRS
Really. Let’s just advocate for using the latest technology ad infinitum to the point where we have a baseball version of the WWE.
Dodger Dogg
You obviously haven’t been following this scandal.
douglasb
2017 Houston Asterisks. Just own it. 99% of fans are willing to admit that team was a fraud.
DockEllisDee
Immunity was a garbage move to begin with, but if Manfred was going to go that route he should’ve issued a gag order as well. The fact that these players have any kind of platform to still try to deflect blame and responsibility is only drawing more contempt as each article is released.
Gasu1
I think cheater by the trashcan time we scandal consider stolen title Altuve’s cheat HOF liars credentials, all of this will have been buzzer forgotten
pads fan1980
Who cares anymore time to move on. The only thing your getting out of this is a bunch of people complaining when it doesn’t affect them
douglasb
it will be time to move on next year, after the 2020 Houston Asterisks set the league record for most time being hit by pitch, and the most broken ribs in a season.
BobbyDynamite
this is the MLB, not the MMA. Fans are welcome to switch over to MMA if they want.
if teams want to lose to the Astros, they can headhunt, but most of them want to win.
Fans of poor discernment are being led by a corrupt sports media into a bloodlust I’ve not seen in over 40 years of watching the MLB, and over an activity that has been going on for decades.
The more ridiculous fans and players get in their calls for vigilante ‘justice’ against the Astros, the more likely it is more players and coaches pull a Fiers and spill the beans on rules violations among the other 29 teams.
When 70% or more of pitchers in the league are violating the foreign substances rule, this sanctimonious holier-than-thou BS that so many fans are spewing is laughable. Don’t tell me that hitters knowing what type of pitch is coming next increases odds of winning more than pitchers getting better spin rate and control from sticky stuff. It doesn’t.
douglasb
but… but… some other people are cheating. so it’s ok to cheat.
douglasb
unless their head is up somewhere else… broken ribs doesn’t equate to headhunting.
cc10cc
when you can guarantee a level playing field, then maybe it will be time to move on – this includes punishing the players who cheated so that it is very clear that no player will get away with cheating. And punish the owner too – as in getting a suspension.
rognog
‘member Baghdad Bob, here’s Houston Hank
Briffle2
Jim Crane acting like he didn’t know is the biggest crock in all of this. The more that comes out, the more it seems like a ton of people and organizations knew, but just kept their mouths shut about it and kept it in house. You’ve got organizations telling the Nats to watch out for it, and Crane is telling me he didn’t know about it?
His ownership should be striped and he should be banned from the MLB.
Melchez
Maybe this should be a lesson for major league players… Stop cheating. Houston was probably good enough to win without cheating. Now, because you cheated and got caught and lied… what you did is tainted. It will always be tainted. Win one without doubt and then people will give you the credit. Until then…no one cares if your feelings are hurt.
goosr
it’s going to be a very long year for the cheaters.. I can see the signs from fans and the boos. pitchers will throw at them
Dimmagiobs
We only know what has been proven, and it’s that the Astros cheated in 2017. There is no way to reasonably quantify how advantageous it was to the outcome overall, but trust that the outrage from players across the league is because they – as major league professionals – know that the advantage is tremendous. Baseball is a complex game of inches and moments and opportunities that every professional works tirelessly on maximizing. There is no doubt that it helps every player on the team, even the pitchers, regardless of whether they were using the tactics or not, and no one knows this better than the players themselves. Hence the responsibility to speak up and stop it.
There is also no good reason to believe a team would just all of a sudden abandon it for subsequent seasons, unless there’s some sort of evidence of an organizational mandate to the contrary. They may be able to convince fans and some media, but the players in the league know, and I’ll take their word for it.
arc89
They were cheating for longer than just 2017. Ovr a dozen teams filed complaints but MLB did NOTHING about it. It was known all over MLB that Houston was stealing signs in their ball park. Oakland filed a complaint when they went into Houston only 5 games behind for a important series. Astros rocked their pitchers. I remember the announcers were saying the pitchers must be tipping their pitches. its like Houstron knew what was coming. Oakland filed a complaint with MLB. MLB said they found NOTHING. Of course they covered it up because loo at it now a big black eye on baseball.
Vizionaire
disband asstros!
njmlins
ALTUVE IS GUILTY…whether he used the system or not…he knew others did and benefited from them being on base. enough non-sense…break his hands or ribs with a fastball
Rudy Zolteck
You already saw what happened when Stanton or Judge or Justin Turner got plunked. You shouldn’t be wishing that on anybody, it’s bad for the game. If injuring the Astros is the only way you think your team can win then find a new hobby.
Scrap1ron
They all rode the same bus.
Scrap1ron
Keep hitting that tar baby, Asteriks..
Jason29
I would like to hear mike Fiers recollection on this. Did some guys abstain? It matters to me if those guys did. Also, I think Correa hurt his free agent money by cheating.
MoRivera 1999
Even if some guys abstained, which is doubtful, they did not even attempt to stop it and they all benefited. They’re all responsible.
Jason29
I agree. I just mean from a performance perspective. It makes me wonder the degree they are overrated individually.
ffrhb14Sox
Not a defense but I played in college and when we thought we had signs figured out there were guys who didn’t want to listen for first name or last name being cheered. Too much to think about other than see the pitch and hit it. I bet there were guys who felt similar. Again, not a defense for Altuve or the Astros, just reality.
TheLawAbides
Verlander said it before Bellinger…Judge deserved the MVP over Altuve. Manfred needs to man up and ban all the Astros players from the hall of fame. Please Astro players just shut your mouth stop taking some high road saying yeah we cheated and the other teams were making it really hard
dellarocco72
Manfreds legacy will be that he was too lenient on the players that cheated. Should be banned from baseball.
CrookedAsstros
This team is ridiculous, a bunch of cheaters trying to get up on their high horses to preach to their delusional fans. Disgusting and pathetic
nrd1138
They can get on their high horses… and find a low bridge
JayRyder
-Delusional.
jrhoades22
I think the Dodgers should add “2017*” to their list of championships posted at Dodger Stadium, just to see how the Astros react.
DockEllisDee
Ikr, fly that flag in Dodger stadium, just as a constant rub to the Astros. I can dig it
ffrhb14Sox
Don’t the Astros play in Chavez Ravine like once every 6 years unless they meet in the WS? I hardly call that a constant reminder and I’m sure no Dodger or Dodger fan wants a flag they didn’t win.
30 Parks
Carlos Tulowitzki should focus on getting 500 ABs this year.
nrd1138
The sad thing is his MVP title will go nowhere, Giambi was raging with ‘roids back in 2000 when got the MVP title and it never got removed. Altuve’s tainted MVP title is safe.
What will be interesting is to see how this team really hits now that their advantage is gone.
3Men&ABibee
Carlos would be be better to shut his little c**k sucker and just take the balls that are going get thrown at him and all the boos. He has no right to say anything except I am a low piece of human life.. The Astros and RedSox have lost any questions ability to be heard or believed from this point forward and Dusty Baker.” the MLB needs to protect us?” You joined the wrong team. MLB players are going to handle this, so keep your stupid self on the bench before you get hurt.
Rudy Zolteck
Are you actually threatening to hurt Dusty Baker over this? Step away from the computer little buddy
3Men&ABibee
Did I say that? Your high school education must not got it done? He is asking MLB to protect these chumps. I was referring his old geezer ace getting involved in the brawl that will happen at some point. Baker is a inconsequential manager. Always has been. I don’t want an innocent man to get hurt during it. Now you go back to sitting on your butt and collecting government assistance you troll.
Rudy Zolteck
I mean “before you get hurt” is pretty clear, can’t blame us for taking it that way dude. Lol “government assistance” and “troll” are just such grandpa responses that I should have guessed you’re an internet tough guy already, I don’t even know why I bothered. You think you can just get away spewing vitriol and never get called out for it. If he’s so inconsequential then why did you say “before you get hurt” and then try to attack someone who questioned you about it?
The nerve of MLBTR tough guys lol, let me guess your next response is “say that to me in real life and you’d need a dentist” hahahaha
3Men&ABibee
First, you didn’t call anyone out. Also, I would say it to Correas face and yours. I am not scared of no one on here. I could care less what you or anyone else says on here. Maybe you come on here looking for friends? I don’t. I am not one of those people that say it. I can back it up. It’s not chest pumping. It’s who I am. I don’t let anyone dictate my life. Now, go back in your basement with your mom and keep flipping your fries in the day and standing on the corner at night. You, like Baker, are inconsequential. Seems you got mad at the living off the government comment? Truth hit too close at home?. Nothing you can say can effect me or make me mad because I am better at life than you. So, good try troll. Now, i will not entertain you anymore. I know you have no one in life to care about you, so you come on here to try to get any attention. Yours is done for me. Good luck being lonely.
Rudy Zolteck
“I’m not chest pumping” he said while insulting a random internet poster who asked him why he said “before you get hurt” to Dusty Baker.
And I already predicted you would just keep spewing, and you nailed it. Why not just prove me wrong? What made you think this was a good idea? Hahaha
Drawesome72
The Astros are cheaters and their actions indefensible. As far as I’m concerned 2017-2019 should be erased!
Altuve is just as culpable and a liar as the rest of them. I hope they fall flat on their face this season.
Jason29
Sadly I expect them to be a decent but not title a contender. I would like to see the team traded and I’m sure there would be some takers (orioles?)
puddles
The idea that he hit a walk off to go to the world series and was thinking about an unfinished tattoo coming around 3rd (and it not coming out for weeks) is not the most believable story I’ve ever heard
impliedi
A small part of me wishes that this had occurred in the minor leagues, instead of the majors, because I could definitely imagine a minor league team having a free giveaway of a small trashcan and mini bat to every fan. Would love to hear thousands of people banging on little trashcans every time an Astros player was at bat on the road. Unfortunately, no major league team would have the guts to pull off a promotion like this (and I assume would be looked upon very unfavorably by the Commissioner’s Office!)
StPeteStingRays
Altuve: I don’t like the trash can banging. I can’t hit like that. I much prefer the buzzer.
mike156
The problem with widespread cheating is that it places everyone under a cloud, whether they did it or not. And it taints all results. We saw this with PEDS, we are seeing it again with this.
Strike Four
PEDs do not directly change the game results, they only keep players healthy so fans can go see them.
The Astros comp here is definitely not PED users, its the 1919 Black Sox.
Rudy Zolteck
That’s an even worse comparison because the Black Sox lost on purpose in collusion with the mob. There was no competitive advantage they went for, no criminal involvement.
PEDs result in better production and this does indeed influence games. To deny that is just silly no matter what the exact mechanism is.
Rudy Zolteck
*no criminal involvement in the cases involving sign-stealing
cc10cc
whether it’s the 1919 Black Sox or the 2017 Astros, the point is that the integrity of baseball is at stake – so yes, there is definitely a comparison.
ffrhb14Sox
Accidentally hit the thumbs up on one of the most laughable comments ever. Yes steroids don’t impact game results but guys are willing to risk all of the health side effects to take them and all of a sudden guys start breaking the HR record every year. Everyone knows steroids impact results or nobody would be dumb enough to take them…and like forever about taking them to avoid the embarrassment of saying they took them just to stay healthy.
larry48
You are really gullible if you think somebody knew about the trash and didn’t use it.
ffrhb14Sox
Not really, I know guys who played with me in college who didn’t want the signs if we thought we had them. For some standing in the box waiting to hear a signal was less comfortable than just hitting. All depends on the timing of the signs and confidence you have them. That’s not a defense for Altuve who I’ve never liked or the Astros, just a different, not gullible, perspective.
Tazbk
Watched the interview. That was an aggressive move. For his sake, he better hope nothing else comes out.
goldenmisfit
First off anyone who goes back and watches those games can clearly see Jose was using the trash cans the only reason Carlos is coming out now with this is because Cody said Jose stole the MVP from Judge. No one else find it wildly ironic Carlos was very remorseful then almost overnight is defending everything the Astros did? Here is what happened, Carlos made his original statement coming off very remorseful then he got to the clubhouse and I guarantee you Brinkman, Springer and Altuve were waiting by his locker and they were like “dude what the hell? You are making us all look like garbage“ so to protect his team now he is done a complete 180. As a former athlete I have been in those locker rooms and I can tell you when you talk to the media and it can make the rest of the team look bad they will approach you and they will tell you what you just did made them look bad almost pressuring you to recant. So when you approach the media again or the media approaches you that player now has to defend their teammates and especially what Cody said that made it very easy for Carlos to know who he should defend. All the evidence shows with certain Jose Altuve cheated probably more than just about anyone else but now Carlos is trying to say he is one of the very few who did not trying to make people think his MVP is deserving. Also, anyone else find it ironic Carlos is lashing out at a member of the Dodgers knowing full well they do not play the Dodgers this season? Funny, did not hear him going off about the comments of Gary Sanchez or Geo or shower or cc Sabathia or how about Aaron Judge deleting a congratulations message to Jose Altuve. Because he knows they are already going to get a ton of heat when they get to Yankee Stadium in September why make it worse. Also, how can anyone believe anything any of these guys say this is the same team when questioned about the possibility of illegal activity in 2017 all of the responses was they were doing things the right way it was just the pitchers tipping their pitches which actually cost at the time a cloud of effectiveness on guys like Kershaw, Darvish and Severino. These guys were lying then and Carlos is lying now.
Strike Four
Dont ever write so many words without hitting enter a few times.
ffrhb14Sox
Judge didn’t deserve an MVP, he feasted on bad opponents and was a welcome sight in the box against Boston who took the division. He even was a healthy bench player for a bit while he struggled. That’s not an MVP for me.
sithdude
Mike Trout was second in voting, he was the one the MVP was stolen from not judge.
Dodger Dogg
I don’t buy the bad tattoo story or the angry wife story for one second. Altuve’s actions speak louder than his or Correa’s words. The Astros want to move on but how can everyone else when they skirt the truth and downplay their cheating?
VegasSDfan
Astros players, staff, and fans are the ones denying they used electronic devices in this conversation.
Unclenolanrules
Astros fan for 40 years.
Not anymore. Not until this bunch is gone and their entitled rich boy owner too.
Side note: How many times can one team lose Nolan Ryan?
Thanks Crane. Nothing worse than entitled rich white men.
Rudy Zolteck
You just had to throw “white” in there? I almost took you seriously.
Strike Four
@You know what this is called? Intimidation. – you should take him seriously, rich white men are destroying the very fabric of the country right now. Don’t be so soft and just admit it, its ok. I’m white too and I know full well how terrible white people can be when given power with no responsibility. Other races and genders seem to be less abusive over history.
Only a true racist thinks its not ok to take rich white men to task, when we all know they have ALL the privilege and do nothing but abuse it. Be better.
rawbar
Yeah all white men abuse their power….
You had me agreeing with you until then.
Who emasculated your judgment?