The Houston Astros became pariahs around Major League Baseball after their 2017 cheating scandal was publicly exposed. Chris Sale thinks that treatment was justified, but he also believes they were not alone in what they did.
Sale was asked on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Monday whether he felt that the Astros’ 2017 World Series title should have an asterisk because of the cheating scandal. Sale responded that he knows “for a fact” that the Astros were not the only team cheating during that time, and criticized some of his unnamed peers for calling out Houston despite potentially being guilty themselves.
“If the Astros were the only team doing it, then yeah, give it back,” Sale said. “I know for a fact they weren’t. All these people pointing fingers, they can check in the mirror real quick. Make sure that you and your team weren’t doing something.
“And what they did was wrong, and I’m not trying to condone it, but shoot. We’re talking five years ago now and we’re still talking about this stuff,” Sale continued. “I’d like to kind of turn the page on it, but it happened, they dealt with it, there’s nothing you can really do about it now, so you just kind of move on from it.”
Sale’s allegations are not specific, but they are intriguing. Many have long claimed that baseball teams are always looking for new competitive advantages, and some have even defended the Astros on that basis. Some within the game would probably agree with the Boston Red Sox ace’s assessment of things.
The Astros’ cheating became such a major story because that team won the World Series, and their methods were so blatant. If the issue was limited to that Houston team, it’s doubtful that MLB would still be trying to combat sign-stealing several years later.
Photo: Oct 8, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning in game two of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
