KICKED IN THE ASTRO!
MLB BANS HINCH, LUHNOW FOR SIGN STEALING, THEN THEY GET FIRED
Carlos Beltran was the only player singled out in Major League Baseball’s exhaustive report involving the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, but the new Mets manager avoided punishment.
After repeatedly denying any involvement, Beltran was mentioned prominently in the report released by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday that resulted first in season-long suspensions of Houston manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow — then their firings by Astros owner Jim Crane.
“Approximately two months into the 2017 season, a group of players, including Carlos Beltran, discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter,’’ the report stated. “[Then Houston bench coach Alex]
Cora arranged for a video room technician to install a monitor displaying the center field camera feed immediately outside of the Astros’ dugout. (The center field camera was primarily used for player development purposes and was allowed under MLB rules at the time when used for that purpose.)’’
That’s in stark contrast to what Beltran told The Post in November, after being named manager of the Mets, following the initial report of the cheating scandal by The Athletic.
“We took a lot of pride studying pitchers [on] the computer,’’ Beltran told The Post’s Joel Sherman at the time. “That is the only technology that I use and understand. It was fun seeing guys get to the ballpark to look for little details. … The game of baseball for years, guys have given location and if the catchers get lazy and the pitcher doesn’t cover the signs from second base [then] of course players are going to take advantage. I don’t call that cheating. I call that using small details to take advantage. I think baseball is doing a great job adding new technology to make sure the game is eve n for both teams. It’s easy to blame someone when they win.”
He reiterated that sentiment later in the offseason, saying “I’m not aware of that camera.’’ But the report stated that “witnesses have provided largely consistent accounts of how the monitor was utilized. One or more players watched the live feed of the center field camera on the monitor, and after decoding the sign, a player would bang a nearby trash can with a bat to communicate the upcoming pitch type to the batter.’’ Still, Manfred declined to go after any players — including Beltran. “I will not assess discipline against individual Astros players,’’ the commissioner said in his statement. “I made the decision in September 2017 that I would hold a Club’s General Manager and Field Manager accountable for misconduct of this kind, and I will not depart from that decision. Assessing discipline of players for this type of conduct is both difficult and impractical.’’
The Mets said they would not comment on Monday and Beltran didn’t respond to a message.
Earlier in the offseason, GM Brodie Van Wagenen, said he didn’t expect the investigation to impact Beltran’s standing as Mets manager.
“Anything t hat happened, happened with another organization, with Houston,” Van Wagenen said in November. “I have no idea if anything did or did not, but at this point I don’t see any reason why this is a Mets situation.”
Van Wagenen added that he hadn’t addressed this matter at all with Beltran.