St. Louis Cardinals Hacking Investigation to Wrap Up in Offseason
By Tim Haberin
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes that the league’s investigation into the St. Louis Cardinals hacking controversy will be settled this offseason.
Major League Baseball hopes to finally put the St. Louis Cardinals hacking investigation to bed during the upcoming offseason. At least that’s what Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters before Wednesday night’s National League Wild Card Game at Citi Field.
“We are in the process of finishing up our investigation,” he said. “I wish it had gotten a little more help a little sooner from the U.S. attorney’s office. But the cards come up how they come up, and we’re going to finish our investigation, and there will be a resolution of that during this offseason.”
So far the cards have spelled nothing but bad news for the franchise that calls St. Louis home. Former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, the man at the center of the hacking controversy, was sentenced in July to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of unauthorized access to a private computer between 2013 and 2014. He was also order to pay $279,038 in restitution. Correa had been fired by the team in July 2015.
The league itself will now decide if and how it wants to penalize the franchise. Based on the hefty punishment received by Correa through the legal system, one would think MLB will find enough reason to take measures against the Cardinals organization.
The main issue may be whether or not the league’s investigation determines if Correa acted alone in hacking the Houston Astros database. The former scouting director had reportedly gained access to the team’s player personnel files and email system, including internal trade discussions and notes on prospects. According to an AP report about Correa’s sentence a few months ago, federal prosecutors believe the hacking cost the Astros around $1.7 million.
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Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. has naturally attempted to downplay the reach of the problem, blaming the issue on “roguish behavior” by just a few individuals. Figuring out who those other individuals may have been will undoubtedly be a key aspect of MLB’s inquiry.
If the league decides to take action, fines and/or loss of draft picks are certainly possibilities. Just how harshly they bring down the hammer will likely depend on how pervasive the misconduct was, as well as how high up the hierarchy ladder. The Cards’ front office isn’t the only one dealing with potential discipline lately either. Padres general manager A.J. Preller received a 30-day suspension last month for concealing medical information concerning players involved in trades.
This whole saga has been somewhat of a new phenomenon in the world of baseball, as America’s pastime has intertwined with the expanding frontier of digital theft and cybercrime. When people think of “cheating” in baseball, steroids, pine tar, and corked bats are probably among the first things to come to mind. Hacking might soon join that list.
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MLB’s decision here could set a precedent for how similar problems are dealth with in the future. Of course, the league is likely hoping that the heavy cost already paid by Correa will deter anyone from trying something like this again.