It’s been a while since Baseball dominated the headlines during the offseason. Memes, jokes, news, reports. Who knew a cheating scandal led by the sign-stealing Houston Astros would be so great for being noticed among everything else? And who knew Jose Altuve could go from being such a hero to a villain so quickly?
Obviously, this isn’t good PR. The aftermath is incredible, and isn’t just taining the Astros. A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow were suspended and fired. Carlos Beltran, an Astros player in that 2017 season, was fired by the New York Mets before he managed a single game.
And Alex Cora. Who won’t manage the Boston Red Sox anymore. Considered as the mastermind of the sign-stealing affair. A World Series winner with the Red Sox. But now the league is also looking into sign-stealing during the Red Sox’s 2018 championship run. His suspension, eventually, might be everlasting.
Was this part of the Astros’ scheme? A buzzer under Jose Altuve’s shirt (among other players), letting them know when it’s a fastball and when it’s an offspeed pitch, based on footage and signs the camera picked up on? Is this why he didn’t want to take off his shirt during the celebrations two years ago, instead running off the field and doing it privately?
You’ll be seeing this a lot.
— Marc Farzetta (@MarcFarzetta) January 16, 2020
Jose Altuve signaling to his teammates NOT to rip off his jersey in celebration because it would “allegedly” reveal a buzzer that would go off when triggered by someone on the Astros video team.
Next Level Cheating. pic.twitter.com/ApxOmAgdkz
It ended up not being very fine. Beltran was fired without managing a single game for the Mets.
Pete Rose is used a lot in memes reacting to this scandal, but it doesn’t make what he did any better. Just perhaps sets an example of how soft the league’s punishment was.
Memes via MLB Memes on Facebook