How big was the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal? According to one former player, it’s on par with the last great scandal in the sport’s history.
Former Athletics and Yankees slugger Jason Giambi said he was not surprised to hear about the cheating within baseball, and said it was “no different” than the rampant performance-enhancing drug use that tainted the game throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Everybody is always looking for an advantage,” Giambi told SNY’s “Baseball Night in New York” show, via Randy Miller of NJ.com. “It’s no different than the PEDs. There’s always going to be things going in this game when you’re talking about people making a lot of money and wanting to win.”
Giambi himself was a PED user, having been outed in the BALCO scandal in late 2004. He admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2007.
One has to wonder if players in the game agree with this assessment. At times, PED usage was shrugged off by some because it was so widespread around baseball at a certain point. The same is definitely not true of this, and it’s why some players have advocated much harsher penalties for the ballclub.
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:
