Astros stick to script on 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 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 with 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.” And thus the script was set.
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, believing it would improve chances of getting a hit.
Manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were given one-year suspensions by Manfred; Crane then quickly fired both. MLB didn’t punish any players for the cheating.
Crane and players denied that Astros hitters used buzzers to get information about pitches.
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 JosE 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.”
Like Crane, they refrained from offering any sort of apologies to teams or players they had beaten in 2017, specifically the Yankees in the AL championship series and the Dodgers in the World Series.
The most forthcoming and sinceresounding statements came from Correa, who said the system was not as effective in the postseason because opposing catchers were using multiple signs to tell their pitchers what to throw.
“We feel bad and we don’t want to be remembered as the team that cheated to get a championship,” Correa said. “What we did in ’17 was wrong. ... It’s not how we want to be remembered.
“I’m going to be honest: When we first started doing it, it almost felt like it was an advantage. ... But it was definitely wrong. It was definitely wrong and we should have stopped it at the time.”
Extra innings: The Red Sox defeated LHP Eduardo Rodriguez in salary arbitration, improving teams to 5-1 this year. Rodriguez will earn $8.3 million rather than his request for $8,975,000. The 26-year-old was a career-best 19-6 with a 3.81 ERAin 34 starts last season, when he made $4,325,000. ... Diamondbacks RHP Mike Leake has a fracture on his non-throwing wrist but still hopes to be ready for the start of the regular season. Leake, 32, was 12-11 with a 4.29 ERA last season for the Mariners and D’backs.