One of the big discussions surrounding the Houston Astros cheating scandal is whether the team should have been stripped of its 2017 title. As an extension of that, some want to call the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost to Houston in the 2017 World Series, that year’s rightful champions.
Dodgers infielder Justin Turner isn’t particularly interested in that line of thinking.
Justin Turner: “We don’t want a fake banner hanging in our stadium. We didn’t earn that.”
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) January 25, 2020
In other words, Turner won’t be lining up to accept the crown from the Los Angeles City Council.
Even if the Astros cheated, you can’t really just shift the honors to the next team down. The New York Yankees could have beaten Houston in that year’s ALCS and then defeated the Dodgers in the World Series, for instance. Even if you could, it would do nothing to change the fact that the Dodgers missed out on the euphoria of actually winning, and the emotional aspect of such a victory is long gone now. It’s easy to understand why Turner just couldn’t be bothered.
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:
