Analyst apologizes for spreading MLB cheating rumors on Twitter

A self-titled MLB analyst apologized on Twitter Thursday for spreading cheating allegations on the social media platform a day earlier.

MLB has been dealing with some serious cheating issues the last few years. The Houston Astros were caught cheating in the 2017 playoffs, the year they won the World Series. Recently, the league began cracking down on pitchers using illegal foreign substances.

Apparently frustrated over the cheating matters and what he deemed was MLB’s selective penalization, a baseball-focused stats guy named Ryan Spaeder attempted to address things. He tweeted numerous allegations regarding other teams and players whom he claimed have cheated the last few years. His allegations went back as far as 2015.

On Thursday, apparently feeling the heat from the rumors, Spaeder decided to apologize. He deleted the rumors he spread a day earlier. He said sharing the rumors had turned his life “upside down” and that he regretted everything.

I deeply regret everything that I said — it has turned my life upside down. It was a mistake, and I should not have reported on unfounded allegations. I sincerely apologize to all of those impacted — it should not have happened, and it will not happen again. Stick to stats.

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) June 17, 2021

Spaeder is a stats-oriented baseball guy who hosts a podcast and has served as a guest for numerous outlets. He provided no serious proof though and just spread rumors based on whatever limited sourcing he had.

There is a reason why very few outlets publicized Spaeder’s allegations. There are supposed to be journalistic standards before publishing consequential and damaging information. Some of the rumors Spaeder spread were very serious. He is now learning that being involved in such reporting comes with significant consequences.