Astros apologize for cheating — sort of
Players choose their words carefully, try to move past sign-stealing scandal
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— 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 signstealing 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.
Manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were given oneyear suspensions by
Manfred; Crane then quickly fired both. MLB did not punish any players for the cheating and Crane said he stood by that.
“We’re not going to do anything to the players,” he said.
Crane and players denied that Astros hitters used buzzers to get information about pitches.
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 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.”
“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.”