Most controversial scandals in MLB history: #13. Chris Correa hacks the Houston Astros
Whether baseball fans like to admit it or not, cheating is a major part of the game. At times, they’re lining up their bats with pine tar, in other instances, they’re attempting to steal signs. Whatever the case, cheating in baseball is a well known practice.
Still, with that said, what took place in 2015 was unheard of.
The St. Louis Cardinals decided to get a bit creative with their cheating. Chris Correa, the former scouting director for the ball club, found a way to hack the database of the Houston Astros and became privy to private information. Once the Astros caught wind, they immediately pressed charges. Realizing that he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Correa openly accepted the punishment that was handed down to him by a federal judge. Correa was actually found to be guilty of having unauthorized access to a protected computer from as far back as 2013.
In total, Correa was sentenced to 46 months in jail, just short of three years. He was also forced to pay restitution in the amount of $279,038.
The information Correa was reportedly able to get his hands on was draft related and a long list of other valuable knowledge. The loss resulted in roughly $1.7 million for the Astros.