Major League Baseball recently concluded its investigation of the Houston Astros organization for its intricate sign-stealing scheme, which was uncovered following the 2019 postseason. The commissioner’s office suspended Astros’ General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Field Manager A.J. Hinch for the 2020 season, fined the organization $5 million, and stripped the team of its first and second-round draft picks in the 2020 and 2021 MLB Draft.
Luhnow and Hinch have since been fired by Jim Crane, the Astros’ owner, but the punishment does not adequately account for the seriousness of the misconduct. Baseball hasn’t dealt with a scandal of this scope in its entire history. The MLB had one chance to make sure nothing close to this scandalized the sport again, and it failed.
Over the course of at least the three previous seasons, the Astros used planted cameras to swipe signs from opposing teams’ catchers before the opposing pitcher delivered a pitch. Using everything from banging on trash cans in the clubhouse to electronic equipment, the signs were relayed to the Astros’ batter at the plate, who would then know what pitch was coming next. This is an enormous competitive advantage and one attained by an unprecedented breach of both written and unwritten MLB rules.
New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman is just one of many players to voice his displeasure with the situation. Stroman quote-tweeted a video from a 2017 game he pitched against the Astros when he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
“S*** makes sense now. I remember wondering how these guys were laying off some of my nasty pitches. Relaying all my signs in live speed to the batter. Ruining the integrity of the game,” Stroman tweeted.
Stroman allowed two runs and 11 hits in the game.
Another pervasive scandal to plague baseball is the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs among players. Suspensions have ranged from 80 games to full seasons. No player has been banned for life for using steroids.
The difference between juicing up to add muscle and knowing exactly which pitch is incoming from an opposing pitcher is obvious. Steroids affect bodies, but they don’t tell the hitter whether an incoming pitch will sink, spin, dart, or dash on its way from the pitcher to the plate.
Despite their involvement in and approval of the Astros’ sign-stealing system, not a single member of the team’s roster was suspended. MVP-caliber players like Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun have been handed hefty suspensions for taking steroids, but Astros superstars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman get to enjoy their 2017 World Series ring and begin the 2020 season without repercussions.
In addition to fining and suspending the Astros’ managers, the MLB should have levied fines and suspensions on all of the players involved in the sign-stealing scandal. It’s suspended players for less serious offenses, like performance-enhancing drug use, and it even banned eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox from the sport for life for gambling on World Series games.
The MLB hasn’t established adequate deterrence for future players who may find instant sign-stealing by way of technology enticing. In fact, by not suspending any Astros’ players, it hasn’t established any deterrence at all.
Punishing the unfair competitive advantage the Astros gained from their scheme, fining the organization, and stripping the team of future draft picks was a good place to start. But by allowing all of the players involved to suit up and play for the upcoming season without restriction, the Astros can essentially move forward with business as usual in the 2020 season.
Nathaniel Grime is a senior studying rhetoric and public address. He is the sports editor for The Collegian.