Astros stole signs, broke rules in ’17 ML title conquest?
SCOTTSDALE, Arizonza – Major League Baseball has expanded its investigation into the Houston Astros after The Athletic website reported the team stole signs during home games in 2017 by using a camera positioned in center field.
The report Tuesday quoted pitcher Mike Fiers, who played for the Astros that season, and three other unidentified people with the club. The Astros won the World Series that year – two sources told The Athletic that Houston used the system into the playoffs while another source said the system ended before the postseason.
The website said the process was started by a struggling hitter and a coach, neither of whom was identified. The camera at Minute Maid Park was connected to a television monitor in the tunnel between the Astros’ dugout and clubhouse, The Athletic said, and team employees or players would communicate expected pitches by banging a trash can to signal off-speed pitches.
“I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they’re going in there not knowing,” Fiers told the website.
The Astros said in a statement the team “has begun an investigation in cooperation with Major League Baseball” and declined additional comment.
Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow declined to talk about specifics.
“We take the allegation seriously and we’re going to look into it. If you’re not following the rules, it’s a serious matter,” he said Tuesday at the annual GM meetings. “I’m not going to get into exactly what I knew or anybody knew at this point. So I’m just going to have to wait and see. But I’m sure there will be an appropriate time to answer that question directly.”