Randy Smith
The recent Major League Baseball scandal isn't quite as big or widespread as the steroid scandal from twenty years ago. But it is serious enough to get three managers and one general manager fired this week. Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch joined Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow, Boston Red Sox Manager Joey Cora and New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran in losing their jobs over allegations that the Astros used technological devices to steal signs from opposing teams.
Beltran who was just hired a couple of months ago by the Mets was let go before ever managing his first game.
The allegations started in 2017 when the Astros won the World Series. Sign stealing obviously continued through the 2019 season as most recently accusations of players using buzzers under their jerseys to notify them of what pitch was coming. The setup was pretty elaborate with cameras being involved as well.
As long as I can remember, there has been cheating in baseball. Pitcher Gaylord Perry was famous for doctoring baseballs with spit or Vaseline. Other pitchers have been known to scuff baseballs to get that unusual movement of the ball. Then there was the steroids scandal in the mid to late 1990s. That scandal has kept several players out of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, including Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Cheating dates all the way to the "Black Sox" scandal 101 years ago as players were charged with throwing the World Series.
In baseball, stealing signs has always been part of the game, but not using technological devices. There are some people out there who are calling for MLB to strip the Astros of their World Championship from 2017 because of the cheating accusations. As a player we would have players on the bench try to decipher signs from opposing players and coaches but we seldom figured them all out.
While baseball is in the forefront right now, cheating also involves football teams. The New England Patriots come to mind with their "spygate" and "deflategate scandals. There have been scores of college football and basketball teams caught cheating, whether it be recruiting or changing grades. As long as there are sports and competition there will be cheating and while suspensions and punishments will continue to be handed out, cheating will always be with us. That's a fact.
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com