Astros Controversy
On Tuesday Nov. 12, former Houston Astros player Mike Fiers publicly stated that Major League Baseball team the Houston Astros engaged in sign stealing methods in 2017 that violated the MLB rules. After Fiers accused his former team, the MLB started an investigation on the Houston Astros. It was later confirmed that the accusations were correct and the Houston Astros had been cheating in 2017, the year they won the World Series.
The MLB came down on the Astros, along with other teams like the Boston Red Sox who also cheated in 2018 when they won the World Series, with several punishments. Some of the punishments included a one-year suspension for the general manager Jeff Luhnow, one-year suspension for the manager A.J. Hinch, a 5 million dollar fine, the loss of first and second round draft picks in the 2020 and 2021 draft and finally the placement of former assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman on baseball’s ineligible list. Even though the Astros were punished in several ways, they still have the title of World Series Champions in 2017. How is that fair?
The Astros cheated in over 100 games in 2017 and they were named the best team in baseball that year. Everyone in the baseball world saw the Astros as a powerhouse for two years. The whole time not a single player, coach, manager or anyone on the team could speak up. Not only did the Astros lie to the world, but they ruined other major league players’ careers. The Astros made many Major League Baseball players look very bad. Because the Astros were stealing the opposing teams signs, the Astros hitters knew what pitches were coming in. Because the Astro batters knew the pitch before hand, they were able to easily hit the pitch, causing the pitchers to to be ineffective.
What the Astros were doing did not only affect them, but it affected the entire league. Because the Astros hurt so many teams and players in the league, their punishment should be more severe. Even though it may not seem realistic, the MLB should take away the World Series win the Astros got in 2017. The Los Angeles Dodgers lost in the World Series in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, they lost to the Astros, who were cheating, and in 2018, they lost to the Boston Red Sox, who were also found to be cheating.
If anyone tries to tell you that it is a coincidence and the Dodgers were not as good as a team as the Red Sox and the Astros then they are ignorant and out of their mind. The only reason the Dodgers lost in 2017 and 2018 was because they were playing by the rules and the opposing teams were cheating the system.
Both the Astros and Red Sox should have their wins taken away from them, and they should be shamed by the baseball world. This all just goes to show that “cheaters never prosper.” All cheaters should be shamed. The Astros and Red Sox will forever be looked down upon. As the proverb goes, “It is better to fail with honor than win by fraud.”