MLB handed what is arguably one of the biggest suspensions in the history of baseball to the Houston Astros on Monday. The variety of punishments after the 2017 World Series sign-stealing scandal include 1-year suspensions for manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow. Houston also said goodbye to their first and second-round picks for this year’s draft and 2021’s. They will pay a $5 million fine for their actions as well.
Justice has been served and heads have rolled as both Hinch and Luhnow have been fired by the organization. However, some got lucky as not a single player was disciplined by Major League Baseball on Monday morning.
There’s No “I” In Team, There Is In Cheating
Baseball is a team sport, and unless you’re the 1960s Soviet Union Olympic team, you cheat like a team. This is quite evident for the Astros as most of them, if not all of them, knew about their questionable tactics. Otherwise, figuring out pitchers’ repertoire at the Fall Classic would have been as difficult as it should be. And yet, those who swung bats and ran the bases seemingly have no blame to take.
I’ve gone over this many many times in my head already. The decisions– the lack of decisions rather– regarding the players involved are simply mindboggling. And yet, this is understandable given the man who pulled the trigger on the suspension. This is Rob Manfred after all. He has made a living out of a pace of play fetish and slamming various troubled ownerships. His new thing is letting players off the hook.
Good, But Not Perfect
The Astros did things wrong and they are paying for it. They will keep on paying for their misbehavior for years to come. Maybe even for eternity as this incident will outlive us all. History books, after all, expose cheaters and have saved them pages for people to remember them. Players were very smart. Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel and many more all played along with the investigation and turned themselves into a part of MLB’s “Witness protection” program. Nonetheless, Commissioner Manfred was incompetent enough to not hand any sanctions to the players involved.
What About Cora?
Alex Cora emerged as the mastermind behind the Astros’ plan after reading the report. It seemed as if the Red Sox were ready to bite down the cyanide pill and go down with their manager. That is no longer the case as he was let go by the organization on Tuesday. He has faced no disciplinary actions by MLB yet.
Statement from the Boston #RedSox and Alex Cora: pic.twitter.com/qXsUhSobSy
— Red Sox (@RedSox) January 15, 2020
The Puerto Rican manager will have to face them on his own as Boston wants nothing to do with the former Astros’ bench coach. The Red Sox also have problems of their own thanks to Cora.
Just Not Enough
Rob Manfred did well, barely. What was done was done right. Sanctions are hard, fair and are a clear warning about the consequences of using technology to gain an advantage on your opponent. But, it just isn’t enough. Just as they dropped the ax on some, others were given a get out of jail free card and walked away as if nothing happened.
Cora deserves baseball’s version of capital punishment. However, knowing Manfred’s methods, he might let him walk away instead of banning him for life as he should do. Monday’s disciplinary actions were ideal but they weren’t enough. Astros’ players are too good at Monopoly.
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