Sign-stealing scandal may get political
L.A. City Council could vote to request 2017 and 2018 Series trophies for Dodgers.
The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote within the next week on a resolution urging Major League Baseball to recall the championship trophies presented to the Houston Astros in 2017 and the Boston Red Sox in 2018 “and award them to the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
Councilman Gil Cedillo, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said he expects the council to approve it. As of late Wednesday, the city clerk had not yet determined what day the resolution would come up for a vote.
Cedillo, whose district includes Dodger Stadium, said neither the Dodgers nor his constituents had requested the resolution.
“This is an equity and justice thing,” Cedillo said. “Who was the best team in 2017? Who was the best team in 2018? It was the Dodgers. They got beat by teams that were cheating. Do they need to be told that they shouldn’t have a title?”
On Monday, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that the 2017 Astros had violated MLB rules banning teams from using video technology to steal signs. The 2018 Red Sox are under investigation for a similar violation.
MLB fined the Astros $5 million and suspended manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. The Astros’ owner subsequently fired Hinch and Luhnow. On Tuesday, the Red Sox fired their manager, Alex Cora, who was an Astros coach in 2017 and was cited in the MLB ruling for his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme.
MLB declined to comment on the council resolution, a league spokesman said late Wednesday.
But the league declined to strip the Astros of their title, in part because they recognized the folly in asking fans to wipe out their memories of games that were played. Also, they avoided the risk in giving the title to the Dodgers and later finding out they might have done something similar.
“You’re right. We don’t know,” Cedillo said. “But what do we know? You make your decisions on what you do know. We know that the Astros cheated, and they were advantaged by it.”
The Dodgers lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series and to the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series. If Cedillo believes the Dodgers were the rightful champions, would he support using city funds to stage a parade to commemorate those championships?
“I don’t know. That’s a different question,” he said. “I am focused right now on the Dodgers and the Dodgers fans getting justice. The mere acknowledgment is so significant. There has to be an acknowledgment the best team in baseball those two years was the Dodgers.”
Cedillo said the Dodgers, and the people of Los Angeles, were robbed of what they deserved. He said he was not worried about critics that might dismiss his resolution as a publicity stunt.
“Dude, I don’t need publicity,” Cedillo said. “I’ve been in public life for 22 years. These are my constituents. If I wasn’t in this position, I’d be wondering, shouldn’t somebody do something about this?”