Houston Astros have paid the price for cheating. Was it worth the World Series title?
The Houston Astros can’t say they weren’t sternly warned to not cheat.
They were already employing a high-tech scheme to steal signs from opposing catchers in September 2017 when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred let teams know that the next team caught cheating would pay a heavy price.
Owner Jim Crane let it be known to make sure the Astros’ noses were clean.
That was two weeks before the postseason started.
The Astros didn’t stop.
But early Monday afternoon, the two main architects of the title run, general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch, were suspended one season for the cheating that came to light through terrific reporting by Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal and was confirmed by MLB investigators.
A few hours later, Luhnow and Hinch were fired.
“I felt with what came out in the report they both had responsibilities,” Crane said told reporters in Houston. “Neither one of them started this, but neither one of them did anything about it.”
The smartest guy in the room, and his manager, are now on the MLB unemployment line. That duo is also on double secret probation. One more violation of MLB rules will land them on the permanently ineligible list.
They might have put themselves on an unofficial permanently ineligible list.
“I just spoke with both of them,” Crane said. “A.J. was upset. I think he understands the consequences.”
Houston also was stripped of its first- and second-round picks in 2020 and 2021, which is significant considering their success in the draft, and levied a $5 million fine.
No players were suspended, despite investigators finding that the cheating was driven by players. Carlos Beltran, who finished 2016 with the Texas Rangers and is now manager of the New York Mets, was behind the wheel.
It is expected that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora will receive a stiff penalty for his role in creating and overseeing the scheme while serving as Astros bench coach.
The Red Sox are under investigation for cheating allegations during their run to the 2018 World Series, Cora’s first season as manager, and his punishment will come from that.
Hope he can get out of his lease.
As damning as the evidence was in the MLB investigation, Hinch showed regret for what happened. He told investigators he did not approve of the scheme, but, as Crane said, he didn’t do anything to stop it.
Luhnow said he was unaware of the scheme.
Sure, Jeff.
However, he was aware of some of the untoward things the Astros were doing in their video replay room, and also did not pass along Manfred’s warning as he was directed to do by Crane.
Just to rub some salt in the wounds, Manfred revisited the controversy stirred up in October when former assistant GM Brandon Taubman made insensitive remarks toward a group of female reporters.
The Astros front office, Manfred said, had created an environment when that kind of behavior was allowed to exist. Crane and the business side, which included then-club president Reid Ryan, were exonerated.
Since their World Series title, though, the Astros have enjoyed their finest years in some time. Luhnow and Hinch received contract extensions in 2018, and multiple players have as well.
The Astros averaged 36,797 and 35,275 fans the past two seasons, their highest totals since the two seasons following their 2005 World Series appearance.
Their payrolls the past two seasons, according to baseball-reference.com, were a club-record $172,781,200 and $166,042,500.
But Luhnow, Hinch and the Astros have a World Series ring. They got paid.
Was it worth it? Maybe it was if Manfred’s punishment had been allowed to stand.
Crane, though, stepped in, and Luhnow and Hinch might have put themselves on an unofficial permanently ineligible list.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 5:24 PM.
