Astros Sign Stealing Scandal

Overview

Astros Sign Stealing Scandal refers to a controversy in which the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball were confirmed to be signaling to their batters which pitches the opposing team will throw. In November of 2019, it was reported that the Astros were stealing signs from opposing teams during their 2017 championship season and 2018 season to gain a competitive advantage, such as filming what pitches a catcher would call and then using an electronic signal to alert the batter of the incoming pitch. MLB fans on Twitter joked about the story by tweeting humorous clips meant to exaggerate the Astros' signal-sending.

MLB suspended the Astros' general manager Jeff Lunhow and manager A.J. Hinch for their roles in the scandal. Alex Cora, Hinch's bench coach in 2017, was also punished by MLB and fired from his role as Boston Red Sox manager. While no players were punished, later allegations that star Astros player Jose Altuve was using a buzzer to gain knowledge of incoming pitches led to speculation that there would be further investigation.

Background

On November 12th, 2019, The Athletic^[1] reported that the Houston Astros stole signs electronically in the 2017 season, noting that they were not the only team to do so and that the issue was widespread throughout Major League Baseball. Twitter user @Jomboy_ appeared to confirm this by going over footage of the Astros during that season, pointing out how whenever an offspeed pitch was called, one could hear a banging noise in the stadium (shown below).

Developments

After the news broke, fans began to parody the Astros' transgression by posting clips from popular culture in which a television character made loud banging noises. For example, on November 13th, user @Dan_OMara posted a clip from Seinfeld parodying the Astros, gaining over 9,200 retweets and 40,000 likes (shown below, top). User @Ben13Porter made a similar parody by posting the "More Cowbell" clip from Saturday Night Live, gaining over 22,000 retweets and 93,000 likes (shown below, bottom).

The jokes were covered by CBS Sports^[2] and USA Today.^[3] Other popular examples include a tweet by @Dodgers_Blues that used David After Dentist (shown below, top) and a tweet by @Nick_Parco that used the Hey, Look At Us clip (shown below, bottom).

Punishment

On January 13th, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that its investigation found that the Astros had been stealing signs during their 2017 season and part of their 2018 season. It issued the maximum $5 million fine to the Astros and suspended Astros manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Lunhow for a year. The team also lost several draft picks in future seasons.^[4] Both men were fired shortly after the announcement. Alex Cora, who worked as Astros bench coach in 2017, was found to be a key player in the scandal and resigned from his position as Red Sox manager, though a suspension for him has yet to be announced. New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who played for the Astros in 2017, also parted ways with his team.

Altuve Allegations

On January 16th, a Twitter account claiming to belong to Carlos Beltran's niece alleged that Astros players were wearing buzzers that alerted them to what pitches were coming in the 2019 season, though the Beltran family denied that the account was related to them.^[5] Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick were two players identified as behaving suspiciously after the Astros won the American League pennant. In particular, a clip of Altuve approaching home plate after hitting the series-ending walk-off home run in the American League Championship Series appears to show Altuve telling his teammates not to rip off his jersey. When asked about the moment at the time, Altuve said he would get in trouble with his wife if his shirt was ripped off.

Reddick was accused of having a buzzer attached to him as well, as shots of him from a post-game interview appear to show a piece of tape on his chest. However, it appears to be confetti from the celebration.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References