NEWSLETTER
Of course it was impossible to believe that the Houston Astros electronically stole signs only at home, only in 2017, and only with limited impact. But with MLB’s investigation concluded, punishments levied, and timing having its way of moving us on, I wasn’t sure we’d ever get that much more on the scope of the Astros’ cheating.
Boom:
EXCLUSIVE: A January letter from Rob Manfred to Jeff Luhnow reveals the Astros "dark arts" and "Codebreaker" — the operation behind the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.https://t.co/wrh3EJCICy
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) February 7, 2020
Read it. Just read it.
Among the bombshell revelations:
Given how deeply the process was embedded into what the front office was trying to do – decode and steal and relay signs in real-time during games using front office personnel – I don’t know how you could possibly trust any of the Astros’ results in 2017 and 2018. I also don’t know how you couldn’t immediately presume than any of their other surprising successes (huge jumps in spin rate and velocity for pitchers among them) aren’t somehow shrouded in a permanent cloud of suspicion.
I would still be so very pissed if I were a player on another team.
If and when a bunch of Astros players mysteriously underperform this year, I think we’re all gonna know what we know.
