In one of the more remarkably eyebrow-raising comments about the Astros sign-stealing scandal, Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league decided not to strip the team’s ill-gotten 2017 title because, “The idea of an asterisk or asking for a piece of metal back seems like a futile act.”
The backlash was swift and universal, because obviously the championship is about so much more than a piece of metal.
I like the way Jon Lester – who has helped win three of those pieces of metal – put it today:
Jon Lester, a three-time World Series champion, on the “piece of metal” comment from the Commissioner in reference to the idea of taking the 2017 trophy/title from Astros… pic.twitter.com/5ieWa1IuZf
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) February 18, 2020
Every time I think about this particular topic, I get a little more angry. And since the players are not going to be punished, stripping the title – get back the damn piece of metal – would be a start to the healing across baseball. Because the one the Astros have sure as hell isn’t as special or deserved as this one: