Sticking to script, Astros talk sign-stealing scandal

Alex Bregman spoke for about 30 seconds and said he was sorry, but did not say why. He said he had learned, but did not say what.

On a patch of grass between the Houston Astros' spring training building and fields, under a sun obscured by clouds, the star third baseman stepped to a microphone at a news conference, becoming the first player Thursday to apologize -- without really discussing any details -- for the sign-stealing scheme from the club's 2017 World Series championship season.

"I am really sorry about the choices that were made by my team, by the organization and by me. I have learned from this and I hope to regain the trust of baseball fans," Bregman began, before thanking Astros fans and saying he and his teammates "are totally focused on moving forward to the 2020 season."

The most eyebrow-raising statement came soon thereafter, when Astros owner Jim Crane replied to a question from a reporter by saying: "Our opinion is that this didn't impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series. And we'll leave it at that."

Moments later, Crane tried to backtrack, saying, "It's hard to determine how it impacted the game, if it impacted the game."

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred disciplined the Astros after he found the team broke rules by using electronics to steal signs during 2017 and 2018.

The investigation found the Astros used the video feed from a center field camera to view and decode opposing catchers' signs. Players banged on a trash can to signal to batters what was coming.

Manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were given one-year suspensions by Manfred; Crane then quickly fired both. MLB did not punish any players for the cheating and Crane said he stood by that.

The owner repeatedly pointed to MLB's report instead of directly answering questions and vowed: “This will never happen again on my watch.”

A day earlier, the Astros gathered at their facility, barring media from the grounds, and it was apparent that they mostly agreed on a unified message.

The talking points became clear Thursday before the first official workout of the spring as, one by one, the faces of the franchise spoke to the media in the clubhouse: Bregman, second baseman José Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Josh Reddick, pitchers Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers.

Bregman's clubhouse session lasted 10 minutes and he stuck to his message. So, generally, did the others. Bregman, for example, used words like "apologizing" and "remorse," but made no mention of “signs” or “stealing” or “cheating.”

Some, such as Verlander, said they wished they had "said more" at the time to dissuade the use of the illegal system.

Like Crane, they refrained from offering any sort of apologies to teams or players they had beaten in 2017.