And the penalty should fit the crime. The NFL and PGA blew it when they had their chances. MLB can still do the right thing: penalize the Astros’ egregious behavior by voiding the 2017 championship.
Major League Baseball (MLB), through its Commissioner Robert Manfred, recently released its findings and disciplinary actions regarding the Houston Astros and the associated cheating scandal. I read the entire 9-page decision, and you can find it here.
The bottom line? Manfred won’t discipline players because it’s “difficult” and “impractical.” Why? One reason is there are just too many cheaters.
Rob Manfred: It is difficult because virtually all of the Astros’ players had some involvement or knowledge of the scheme… It is impractical, given a large number of players involved and the fact that many of those players now play for other clubs.
My! How illogical is that! The number of perpetrators should increase the discipline, not decrease it. But, again, this is baseball, isn’t it?
The cheating involved wasn’t done casually; it was carried out through an intricate system of thievery. Pitching signs were stolen using an outfield video camera. Through electronics and other methods, those signs were then relayed to the dugout. Once there, they were communicated to the batter via sound–banging on a garbage pail, specifically.
Anybody who has played the game knows that a batter has a tremendous advantage when he knows what pitch is coming. In this case, compare a sampling of 2017 batting averages when the Astros played away (where they can’t steal signs) and when they play at home (where sign-stealing is possible).
Player Away (Real) Average Home (Cheating) Average
Bregman .154 .273
Correa .211 .371
Altuve .143 .472
McCann .037 .300
Gattis .200 .300
At first glance, it might seem that the away-numbers are typos. They’re not. Without cheating, these players flat-out stunk. And the real story is this: through cheating, these frauds won a World Series.
If only baseball had patent rights in sports with respect to getting away with a crime. But, of course, it does not.
Consider Jadeveon Clowney’s vicious hit on Carson Wentz during the NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles. You can replay it here. That hit violated two NFL rules: 1) he speared the back of Wentz’s head with a helmet, which is a helmet-to-helmet infraction; and 2) he hit Wentz after the QB was down, which is a late hit infraction.
Did the referee assess a penalty for either of those violations? Nope! Clowney and his team got a huge reward instead: Wentz was knocked out of the game. That play–more than any other in the game–had a lot to do with Seattle winning.
Golf suffers similarly. Patrick Reed cheated during a match. You can see it here. (Memo to non-golfers: In the history of golf, there has never been a professional golfer who “accidentally” did this.) Reed is a cheater, and his peers know it. Case closed.
The NFL and PGA missed the boat on Clowney and Reed, respectively. Shame, Shame! But MLB can void–and should void–the Houston Astros’ 2017 World Series championship. When the Astros stole those pitch signs, they stole the World Series.
If MLB doesn’t void that World Series win, it will mean–once again–that (in sports, at least) crime pays.
Great Article, really enjoyed reading this. It is something else and not fair to those that play by the rules and for major sports to set examples as everyone looks up to them.
Ms. Ellis hit the nail on the head, not once, but three times…the Astros, Clowney and Reed are flagrant cases…
I couldn’t agree with Patty more. Cheating is cheating and should not be rewarded anywhere. If it is rewarded it only encourages more cheating. Then the entire reason that I like sports disappears. If I want to enrich my life by cheating, I can go to work for most any major corporation. Instead I work at a not-for- profit where we reward skill and effort. I don’t enjoy watching professional sport much any more because, rooting for the home team vanished when free agency appeared. I do watch some collegiate sport but that is about to be spoiled as well, so I guess I will have to find something productive to do with my free time.
Wow! Wow on all three examples of cheating. The clearest is the Clowney example – probably because it’s the easiest to see. The Reed example shows how useful the technology of replay can be – although if you were watching when it happened, you probably shouldn’t have missed it. But the Astros example is interesting in that it utilizes collected data and analytics in real-time – things that are being encouraged in marketing – to reveal hidden relationships, as well as requires multiple athletes to be complicit. I wish there were comparable Nationals hitting data to further build the case of what the Astros did. In marketing, collecting data, analyzing, and using it is seen as a good thing to anticipate the needs of the consumer – at least up to the point of impinging upon privacy. In sports, we expect a more pure process that starts with PLAY BALL! and the players utilize skill and strength against each other to win as a team. How disappointing to see something akin to spying and cloak & dagger processes to win the hearts, admiration and dollars of the fans. Thank you for shining a light on these incidences and bringing the argument of honesty to sports, something that should be pure and devoid of being tainted by cheating for profit. Or at least that’s what we hope for in today’s crazy world. No question that these are clear incidences of BAD SPORTSMANSHIP. Maybe a few bad apples don’t spoil the whole bunch of athletes; ever hopeful.
Great article and why I am so disenchanted with professional sports. I don’t watch professional any sports, except golf and Premier League Soccer. You have to have some outlet! Thank you PE!
Very well written and informative article. I enjoyed it! This is all so true. I totally agree with you Patty. Cheating is wrong and there should be consequences. Hope the MLB does the right thing.
Great read! Appreciated the links also.
Those batting stats say it all.
Keep ‘em coming, Ellis.
Agree 100%!! Great article, we need to hold these organizations and players accountable.