As more and more allegations about the Houston Astros’ cheating emerges, more players are feeling emboldened to speak out. On Thursday, that included some members of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series, the year MLB confirmed Houston cheated.
In response to allegations of the Astros using electronic buzzers to communicate stolen signs, 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger said he hoped the allegations were not true. He hoped for “major consequences to the players.”
For the sake of the game I Hope this isn’t true.. if true, there needs to be major consequences to the players. That Completely ruins the integrity of the game!!!
— Cody Bellinger (@Cody_Bellinger) January 16, 2020
His teammate, pitcher Alex Wood, put into context just how bad the Astros stealing and illegally communicating the signs in real-time is for a pitcher. He said he’d rather face someone on steroids than a hitter who knew what pitch was coming.
I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) January 16, 2020
Wood similarly lamented the lack of punishments for players.
AMEN!!! The fact that there hasn’t been any consequences to any players up to this point is wild. https://t.co/zjgsJuuQlK
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) January 16, 2020
When MLB handed out punishments on Monday, the franchise was hit by penalties, and so were GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch. Alex Cora was also named. Carlos Beltran was the only player named, and that’s because he’s no longer playing. MLB otherwise left players out of it and did not discipline them.
The prevailing feeling following the penalties was that the Astros got off too easily. As more and more comes out, that feeling will likely magnify.
The Houston Astros are confirmed cheaters and deserve an asterisk. Send that message by wearing our Houston Asterisks T-shirt! You can buy it here:
