MLB teams are “appalled” at a lack of penalty for the Houston Astros in the face of sign-stealing accusations.
MLB announced in a statement on Wednesday that they considered the case against Houston to be closed.
ESPN’s Buster Olney says many team officials across the league are “frustrated” and “appalled” over the lack of a penalty.
Many team officials across baseball frustrated, appalled by MLB decision on Astros/spygate. They believe that Rob Manfred threatened in past to come down hard on violators of electronic surveillance rule, and now with crystal-clear evidence of HOU breaking rules, nothing happens.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 18, 2018
MLB said in its statement that they received multiple complaints about sign-stealing and the use of video equipment surrounding multiple clubs, not just the Astros.
The Astros were accused in August by the Oakland A’s of stealing signs and communicating to their batters via hand claps. The accusations continued into the postseason.
According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, security in Cleveland and Boston removed an Astros employee from an area where he was taking photographs of the opposing team’s dugout. Cleveland reportedly tipped Boston off about the man, who was removed from a media area where he did not belong during Game 1 of the ALCS.
Passan reports that the Astros have been accused of cheating by at least one team this season. Some with the Los Angeles Dodgers even felt the Astros were sign-stealing during the World Series last year. Houston has insisted one of their biggest advantages was discovering how Yu Darvish was tipping pitches.
