In the months since the Astros cheating scandal turned the baseball world upside down, players and fans have been quick to comment about Houston’s cheating, the punishment (or lack thereof) and the team’s apology.
On Tuesday, noted cheater Alex Rodriguez chimed in on the scandal, and he too was disappointed in the Astros’ response.
While calling a Grapefruit League matchup between the Yankees and Red Sox on ESPN, Rodriguez compared his PED use and suspension during his playing career to how the Astros handled their own cheating scandal this offseason.
Rodriguez was hit with a 211-game suspension stemming from the Biogenesis scandal in 2013. This suspension came four years after he admitted to using steroids earlier in his career. On Tuesday, Rodriguez said he deserved that punishment while the Astros seemingly escaped without punishment or remorse.
"I served the longest suspension in MLB history. It cost me well over $35M. And you know what? I deserved that."@AROD says the Astros deserve whatever comes their way after the lack of remorse they've shown. pic.twitter.com/AnezyIyhHa
— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2020
He said:
“I think the one thing that has really upset the fans is you cheat, you win a championship, there is no suspension, and then there’s no remorse. The last one I think is probably the worst one because people want to see remorse. They want a real, authentic apology. And they have not received that thus far.”
Rodriguez continued:
“From a guy who has made as many mistakes as anybody on the biggest stage — I served the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history, it cost me well over $35 million, and you know what? I deserved that. And as a result, I came back. I owned it after acting like a buffoon for a long time. I had my apologies, and then I went dark. I wanted my next move to be contrite, but I also wanted to go out and play good baseball and change my narrative. … You have to be accountable. You’ve earned all this negative talk. You’ve earned whatever comes your way, including whether it’s hit by a pitch or negative press.”
As part of MLB’s investigation, Astros players were offered immunity in exchange for cooperating with the league’s inquiry.
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