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Allegations claim Astros players wore buzzers inside their jerseys

January 16, 2020
by Steve DelVecchio
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Houston AstrosHouston Astros cheating scandal

Jose Altuve buzzer

Major League Baseball confirmed this week that the Houston Astros cheated during their World Series season in 2017, and the majority of the findings centered around a video feed that was used to decode signs and someone banging on a trash can to relay them. However, new allegations claim the trash can was only one of the more obvious methods the Astros used to tell hitters which pitches were coming.

There have been rumblings that some Astros players also wore electronic buzzers inside their jerseys and would receive information via a buzzing sequence. A Twitter account claiming to be Carlos Beltran’s niece tweeted on Thursday that they had proof it was happening.

ESPN’s Marly Rivera has since reported that the person responsible for the tweets is not Beltran’s niece, according to the Beltran family. However, the Twitter account appeared to have information about Beltran’s hiring and firing days before other outlets reported it.

The account also is not the first person to float the buzzer theory. Both Jomboy, who has been at the forefront sharing Astros videos throughout the scandal, and MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer say they have heard from credible sources that the Astros did use buzzers as part of their elaborate sign-stealing scheme.

Back in November, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman also wrote there was speculation the Astros may have used buzzers to communicate signs.

But is there actual evidence? MLB mentioned nothing about the use of buzzers in the report it released this week, but let’s keep in mind the league would have preferred to keep all of this quiet. The trash can banging the Astros were found to be guilty of became completely obvious when people began digging up footage from their 2017 games, but do we have anything that resembles evidence of Houston players wearing an electronic device to receive tips via buzzer?

Maybe.

One heroic moment from Astros shortstop Jose Altuve is suddenly being viewed in a different light. After Altuve hit a walk-off home run to give the Astros a win over the New York Yankees in the 2019 ALCS and send them to the World Series, he pleaded with his teammates to not rip off his jersey when he got to home plate. Altuve told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports after the game that he is “too shy” and got in trouble with his wife the last time his jersey was torn off. You can see the exchange at the 48-second mark below:

Perhaps Altuve was telling the truth, but you can understand why everything that happened is now being viewed through a different lens. Many are speculating that Altuve did not want to risk revealing the electronic device he was wearing.

A lot of this may sound far-fetched, but the Astros no longer have the benefit of the doubt. Some of the evidence we have seen of their cheating is so obvious it borders on insulting, and it has become clear that sign-stealing was a religion in Houston. That’s not to say other MLB teams are innocent, but the Astros have made it part of their culture.

NOTE: Previous versions of this story included a photo of Josh Reddick with something that may have looked like a wire. He says that piece on his body was confetti. Previous versions also incorrectly stated the Altuve video occurred in 2017. It was from the 2019 season.

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:

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