Gonzalez first ’17 hitter to issue apology
Utility player remorseful for part in sign stealing; Musgrove believes other teams also break rules
Marwin Gonzalez on Tuesday became the first former Astros position player to apologize for the electronic sign-stealing scandal, and former Houston pitcher Joe Musgrove said other teams might have participated in rules violations as well.
As current and former Astros players report to Florida and Arizona this week for spring training, Gonzalez, who last year signed with Minnesota, addressed the Astros’ scandal after reporting to Twins camp at Fort Myers, Fla.
“I’m here to tell how I feel, and yes, I’m remorseful for everything that happened in 2017, everything that we did as a group,” he said.
“And then, like, the players who were affected directly by us doing this and some other things. That is where I feel the most regret, and that is where I’m remorseful.”
Gonzalez enjoyed the best season of his career with the Astros in 2017, hitting .303 with 23 homers. His tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the World Series was a vital part of the seven-game series win against the Dodgers.
His remarks came a day after former Blue Jays pitcher Mike Bolsinger filed a lawsuit against the Astros in Los Angeles, accusing the team of negligence and unfair business practices by violating MLB rules against electronic sign stealing.
“I wish we could take it back and do it a different way, but there’s nothing we can do,” Gonzalez said.
Asked if anyone tried to stop the system, through which signs were picked up by a center-field camera and relayed to the dugout, where players banged on a trash can to signal hitters at the plate, Gonzalez said, “I can’t tell you that, because
I would be lying. I was really focused on helping my team. It’s going to be hard to answer that, so I don’t want to guess.”
An analysis by Tony Adams, posted at signstealing.com, charted 8,274 pitches in 58 Astros games played in 2017. Banging sounds preceded 1,143 of those pitches, including 147 while Gonzalez was batting, the most for any player.
Gonzalez said it would be difficult to assess how the 2017 Astros will be remembered in the wake of the sign stealing, adding, “I still think we had one of the best teams in the last decade ... great talent.”
He also said it would be “hard to measure” whether the Astros could have won the World Series without unfair assistance.
“You’re never going to know,” he said. “That was a great team. Great guys, too. It’s hard to answer that question.”
Gonzalez’s teammates in Minnesota include pitchers Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Sergio Romo, who played for the 2017 Dodgers.
Musgrove, meanwhile, turned his remarks toward possible misdeeds by other teams when he addressed the topic of the Astros at Pirates camp in Bradenton, Fla.
“If MLB did an investigation as thorough as they did on the Astros with every team in baseball, they’re going to find a lot more than they want to find,” Musgrove said. “I think everyone just tries to get the upper hand. When you surround people with that much technology and you put it where it’s that available and that accessible, at some point someone is going to take advantage of it.”
Musgrove, who was dealt to Pittsburgh in the 2018 trade that brought Gerrit Cole to the Astros, also acknowledged the impact of the scandal on the legacy of the Astros’ lone World Series title.
“I don’t want to say it’s tainted, but I think it is,” he said.
Musgrove noted that as a pitcher, he did not directly benefit at the plate from the sign stealing and added, “I don’t consider myself a cheater.”
The scandal resulted in the dismissal of Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J.
Hinch by owner Jim Crane. It also has triggered an outpouring of anger that is likely to result in considerable booing by fans during Astros road games this season.
“I’m glad to be out of there,” Musgrove said. “I think everything has been handled already. MLB’s report was even more than I knew was going on. I’m still finding out stuff.”