Moments after it was reported that New York Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka felt “cheated” in 2017, this Houston Astros responded in a gutless way.
Several MLB players, like New York Yankees pitchers CC Sabathia have aired their displeasure with the Houston Astros this offseason. Now, the latest MLB player to speak out against the scandal is Masahiro Tanaka.
In a piece published in the New York Post on February 10th, Tanaka is quoted as saying that he feels “cheated” by the 2017 Astros. When asked if he was mad, Tanaka said, “I don’t know if mad is the right word. It’s something out of the rules. They’re obviously not abiding by the rules.”
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He’s right. At this point, there’s no denying that the Houston Astros weren’t abiding by the rules. An investigation headed by Rob Manfred’s office has proven it, as have apologies on behalf of former manager AJ Hinch and pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton.
And that’s where the problem lies. So far, aside from owner Jim Crane, no current member of the Astros has owned up to any wrongdoing. Instead, we have a group of players that have been emboldened by Manfred’s half-assed investigation.
So emboldened are these players that just moments after Tanaka’s comments became public, Astros outfielder Josh Reddick took to twitter to respond in the most gutless way possible. This as if to imply that the Yankees had no chance to beat Houston whether or not the team was electronically stealing signs.
Tanaka has every right to feel “cheated” by the Astros, as do all the members of the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, or any team that crossed Houston’s path over the past few years.
A few days after MLB handed down its punishments in the sign-stealing scandal, Astros owner Jim Crane promised that his players would apologize for their actions prior to the 2020 MLB season. Well, that’s too little too late now and Reddick’s antics serve as proof that no genuine feeling of regret exists.