Houston Astros: sign-stealing scandal good for baseball

The Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal has taken the sports world by storm. It’s all anybody can talk about, which is good for America’s pastime.

The Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal is baseball’s gift that keeps on giving. When baseball concluded the investigation into the sign-stealing scandal, it should’ve been over. Instead, the commissioner’s office dropped the ball and now members of the Astros just won’t shut up.

This has kept the story alive and well, which, in my opinion, is good for baseball.

Why? Well, because, as the old proverb goes, “all publicity is good publicity.”

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Ever since Astros owner Jim Crane botched the supposed team “apology” last week, all hell has broken loose within the baseball community. As a result, it seems that 29 baseball teams have officially drawn their line in the sand, and the only entity on the other side are the Astros.

The first person to wage war on the Astros was Cody Bellinger. While addressing the media at his locker in the Dodgers’ Spring Training facility, Bellinger accused the ‘Stros of continuing to cheat beyond 2017, of stealing a championship from the Dodgers in 2017, and Jose Altuve of robbing an MVP award from Aaron Judge.

Then, Trevor Bauer chimed in. Per Cincinnati Reds beat writer for The Athletic C. Trent Rosencrans, here are Bauer’s comments regarding Jim Crane’s answers…

"“You’re either lying or you’re a f—ing idiot. And don’t become a billionaire owner of a team by being a f—ing idiot. So, you’re lying.”"

Bauer also addressed the Astros players…

"“they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they’ve stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself was completely unfair.”"

Bauer continues…

"“… you guys think you are better than everyone and you don’t have to abide by the rules? F— you. You know? That’s how I feel about their whole operation."

When is the last time you heard a player refer to other players in this manner?

What’s more, Bellinger and Bauer weren’t the only ones to not shy away from addressing this issue head-on. Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant also addressed the sign-stealing scandal, saying that he’s “pretty sure” it continued beyond 2017 and that it was “worse than steroids.”

Now, those are just three examples of players expressing their feelings about members of the Houston Astros. There is plenty of more reactions from a number of players out there that indicate that come Opening Day, the Astros are public enemy number one.

And that’s must-see-TV.