One of the assertions in Major League Baseball’s report on the Houston Astros cheating scandal is that the team stopped using sign-stealing systems at some point in 2018. That conclusion does not add up for most rival players.
New York Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres voiced that skepticism on Monday. Torres said he believed the Astros were cheating through the 2019 season because it simply did not make sense for it to stop after it was so successful in 2017.
An animated Gleyber Torres said he believes the Astros cheated in 2019, too. “If you cheated in 2017 and won, why wouldn’t you cheat the next year and the next year, too?,” he said.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) February 17, 2020
Torres had a funny analogy to back up his assertion.
Gleyber Torres says he believes the Astros continued cheating in 2019.
“If I played video games with you and I see your controller, I’ll know what’s coming. I will hit really well and I will win. And if you tell me we’re playing again, I’ll do the same thing because I won.”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) February 17, 2020
How does Gleyber know? Because he cheats at video games with Luis Severino.
“When I face Severino, I see the controller. The next time, I do the same thing.”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) February 17, 2020
Torres’ assertion is echoed by at least one other player, and plenty of others in the game believe it too. Though MLB’s report indicated that the Astros played a clean season in 2019, that claim has been met with skepticism for this exact reason. It’s just not logical to expect cheating to stop if it’s both working and going undetected. Perhaps the Astros are an exception to that expectation, but it would be an odd exception, especially given some of the chatter that surrounded their 2019 playoff run.
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:
