Jose Altuve won the AL MVP award in 2017. But if you checked Wikipedia on Thursday to see who won it, you’d have found a different answer.
A funny Wikipedia edit listed the 2017 AL MVP award as going to the “Center Field Camera” for the Astros:
The Wikipedia page (https://t.co/nP6cHcbq5a ) for the year-by-year list of MLB MVP's has gotten an important update. pic.twitter.com/QOF6G8Abhm
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) November 21, 2019
The edit, of course, is a joke related to the current sign-stealing scandal involving the Astros.
Houston is accused of using technology to illegally steal signs and relay them to their batters in real time before pitches arrived. Their system at home reportedly involved using the center field camera to focus in on the opposing catcher’s signs. Then, someone in the hallway connected to the dugout — an employee or player — would watch a monitor showing the signs and then bang a trash can if an offspeed pitch was coming. Numerous videos have all but confirmed this setup. Even a picture seemed to confirm it as well.
Stealing signs using your eyes and without the aid of technology is legal, but using this sort of technology is not allowed, and the Astros are facing potentially significant penalties from MLB for what they allegedly have done.
