January 13, 20206 yr May I be the first to ask the question, "How this any different (worse or not as worse) than Pete Rose betting on baseball?" Baseball loves its traditions and rules. There is one cardinal sin: gambling. It's what started the serious regulation of baseball and is the rock upon which the sport's governance is built. We can philosophize on the severity of what the Astros did until we're blue in the face, but gambling is absolutely unforgivable in baseball. Simply the way it is.
January 13, 20206 yr Astros net worth in 2019...$1.8 billion. Would've liked to see another 0 or so added to the fine. $5 mil is a drop in the bucket.
January 13, 20206 yr Baseball loves its traditions and rules. There is one cardinal sin: gambling. It's what started the serious regulation of baseball and is the rock upon which the sport's governance is built. We can philosophize on the severity of what the Astros did until we're blue in the face, but gambling is absolutely unforgivable in baseball. Simply the way it is. Agreed, and I am curious how you feel about my hypothetical situation in post #14 that potentially ties this incident to gambling.
January 13, 20206 yr Astros net worth in 2019...$1.8 billion. Would've liked to see another 0 or so added to the fine. $5 mil is a drop in the bucket. I'd like to see a one- or two-year ban on new free agent signings. That would really hit these big-money teams.
January 13, 20206 yr I was waiting for that exact response. Here's a thought...not saying it happened in the Astros case. What if someone involved in the Astros cheating effort notified the betting industry that they had a way to directly impact the game through technology and to bet accordingly! Isn't that the same thing? If someone in the organization was tipping off either bettors or oddsmakers as to a confidence scheme that impacted the game, that's participation in gambling and would absolutely result in lifetime bans. But I don't think we have evidence that's what was happening here.
January 13, 20206 yr Were they fired for what MLB says they did or were they fired because they got caught?
January 14, 20206 yr Were they fired for what MLB says they did or were they fired because they got caught? Yes! :lol2:
January 14, 20206 yr Next up, Red Sox. So how far back does MLB take this? No doubt in my mind at all this has gone on for a while. So is the age old craft of stealing signs without the use of electronics still OK? I mean seriously, I was taught this in knothole baseball growing up.
January 14, 20206 yr Author Yes! :lol2: It's a bush league way for the Astros to get out of having to deal with the punishment. But apparently they are all about bush league.
January 14, 20206 yr It's a bush league way for the Astros to get out of having to deal with the punishment. But apparently they are all about bush league. They had to replace manager and gm both for this year anyway. If they were cheating, why not fire them? What would have had them do?
January 14, 20206 yr Next up, Red Sox. So how far back does MLB take this? No doubt in my mind at all this has gone on for a while. So is the age old craft of stealing signs without the use of electronics still OK? I mean seriously, I was taught this in knothole baseball growing up. Absolutely. No one has ever said anything to the different. It's the use of technology that the Astros are being punished for. Will depend on what MLB has on the Red Sox, with regards to their punishment. But, if I was Cora, I'd anticipate having some time off this year, just based upon his involvement with the Astros plans.
January 15, 20206 yr Slap on the wrist. Houston and presumably Boston just got an absolute bargain on a World Series. Fine them 50 million each and ban them from the post season for a few years and send a message. This punishment encourages cheating in my opinion.
January 17, 20206 yr Weak sauce punishment for this. There's some clips of former GM AJ Hinch being questioned about this. Obviously, he denies it, which is to be expected. But he then comes across as arrogant and condescending, knowing all the while what they were doing. You've got to imagine, there were relievers and young pitchers who got sent back down, after getting rocked in a series in Houston. Baseball is such a weird thing, in that you know people are always bending the rules. But something about this, the orchestration of it, just is really sad.
January 17, 20206 yr Looks like Astros were still cheating this year, using buzzers under their shirt to signal pitches to them. Altuve was just sitting on that Chapman Slider, that he hit the walk off HR to end the ALCS.
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