Tag: Houston Astros

‘Shy’ Jose Altuve? MLB fans respond with shirtless photos of Astros star

Scott Boras said it was his “shyness” that made him not want his jersey ripped off.

An absolutely wild Thursday in Major League Baseball included allegations that the Houston Astros wore buzzers under their uniforms in the 2019 season to help them know which pitches were coming.

MLB said that it found “no evidence” of “wearable devices” during its investigation, but the spotlight was on Jose Altuve, the Astros second baseman, and a video showing him not wanting his teammates to tear off his jersey after a walk-off home run in the World Series.

His agent, Scott Boras, said that it was “the shyness of Jose Altuve” that was the reason why he didn’t want his jersey ripped off, the same thing Altuve told FOX’s Ken Rosenthal after the game:

That sent MLB fans into a frenzy — they found photos of Altuve without a shirt on. This doesn’t mean it’s fuel to the wearable device fire. It’s just an amusing response to his “shyness”:

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WATCH: Carlos Beltran steps down as Mets manager after being named in Astros sign-stealing report

Carlos Beltran is done as Mets manager before his first season in the role began.

Carlos Beltran is done as Mets manager before his first season in the role began. The former Astro told the team Wednesday night that it was best to step down from the position, according to reports.

Mets management confirmed the news Thursday, releasing a statement that says, “We met with Carlos last night and again this morning and agreed to mutually part ways. This was not an easy decision. Considering the circumstances, it became clear to all parties that it was not in anyone’s best interest for Carlos to move forward as manager of the New York Mets.”

Beltran is the only player named in MLB’s investigation of the Houston Astros. He was a member of the 2017 World Championship team in his last season as a player. He is the third manager to lose his job since MLB released the results of its investigation into the Astros sign-stealing scandal during the world series season.

The Astros fired A.J. Hinch Monday after MLB suspended him one season, then the Red Sox announced they parted ways with Alex Cora after he admitted to playing a central role in sign-stealing in Houston.

The Mets hired Beltran Nov. 1, signing him to a three-year deal with a fourth-year option, the job was going to be his first as a manager. The 42-year-old played for the Mets from 2005 until 2011.

MLB players were furious about the latest Astros cheating allegations

“I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.”

Just when Major League Baseball was ready to move on from the Astros cheating scandal, sleuthing baseball fans seemingly uncovered a new layer to the saga.

A series of tweets and videos alleged that Astros players — specifically, Jose Altuve, Josh Reddick and Alex Bregman — were using wearable electronic devices or buzzers to relay the opposing team’s signs during the 2019 season.

This move would have been a significant development from the brazen and out-in-the-open act of beating up a trash can. When a video showed Altuve instructing his teammates not to rip off his jersey after a pennant-winning home run, Altuve explained the moment in October as him being shy — despite numerous instances to the contrary. Fans are now connecting that moment to the buzzer accusation.

And word spread quickly in baseball circles. Big-league players immediately took notice to the new allegations, and they weren’t happy.

Altuve’s agent, Scott Boras, issued a statement to Sports Illustrated, denying the allegations:

“Jose Altuve called me and said he wants it known that he has never, ever worn an electronic device in a major league game – ever. He never received any form – of a trigger or any information – via an electronic product that was on his body or in his uniform. He has never worn any electronic device. Ever.”

MLB also claimed that its investigators looked into the prospect of electronic devices, but could not come up with evidence. It may be worth another try.

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Mets’ Jessica Mendoza calls out Mike Fiers for exposing Astros’ cheating scandal

Jessica Mendoza has a puzzling take on whistleblower Mike Fiers.

Former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers stunned the baseball world in November when he revealed to The Athletic that the Astros used a camera in the outfield to steal signs in real time during the 2017 season, which ended with Houston celebrating a World Series victory.

The report led to an MLB investigation into the alleged cheating, which determined that the Astros used a system to steal signs during the 2017 postseason. MLB fined the Astros, docked the team multiple draft picks and suspended coach A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow for one year as punishment. Both Hinch and Luhnow were immediately fired following the release of the MLB report.

During an appearance on Golic and Wingo on Thursday morning, ESPN MLB analyst and New York Mets front office member Jessica Mendoza said Fiers’ decision to blow the lid off the Astros’ cheating scheme was “hard to swallow.”

“I get it, if you’re with the Oakland A’s and you’re on another team, I mean, heck yeah, you better be telling your teammates ‘look, hey, heads up. If you hear some noises when you’re pitching, this is what’s going on.’ For sure.

But to go public, yeah, it didn’t sit well with me. And honestly it made me sad for the sport that that’s how this all got found out. I mean this wasn’t something that MLB naturally investigated or that even other teams complained about because they naturally heard about and then investigations happened. It came from within. It was a player that was a part of it, that benefited from it during the regular season when he was a part of that team. And that, when I first heard about it, it hits you like any teammate would, right? It’s something that you don’t do. I totally get telling your future teammates, helping them win, letting people know – but to go public with it and call them out and start all of this? It’s hard to swallow.”

There are so many disappointing aspects to this take that it’s difficult to unpack, but most remarkably, according to Mendoza, it would have been better for Fiers to protect an organization that was cheating to win at the highest level, and take a chance that people within the league would catch on eventually.

Mendoza claims that Fiers benefited from the Astros’ cheating, but that ignores the fact that his career record in Houston has been forever tarnished by someone else’s decision to cheat. Fiers didn’t have a choice in the matter, and to argue that he betrayed his teammates, when it reality it was Fiers and other honest players who were betrayed by the club, is bizarre.

Mendoza also regrets that Fiers started “all of this,” referring to the fallout of the investigation that has affected multiple MLB teams, including the one she works for. We’ve already seen former Astros coach Alex Cora lose his job with the Red Sox, and according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Mets are “wavering” on new manager Carlos Beltran, who was involved in the Astros’ scheme, and some analysts are calling for the Mets to fire Beltran immediately.

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MLB world reacts to the Boston Red Sox parting ways with Alex Cora amid scandal

Alex Cora is out as the manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Alex Cora led the Boston Red Sox to a World Series title in his first year as manager back in 2018.

Now, he is no longer employed by the team.

The Red Sox announced late Tuesday that they have parted ways with Cora due to MLB’s ongoing investigation into the sign-stealing cheating scandal.

This comes a day after MLB suspended Houston Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for a year. The team then fired both men later on Monday.

Many have speculated that Cora, who was the bench coach for the Astros in 2017, might face an even stiffer punishment for his role in the scandal with both the Astros and Red Sox.

Here’s the Red Sox statement, which includes a comment from Cora:

Twitter had reactions:

https://twitter.com/AnthonyPute/status/1217242261207109637

https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1217245726717153281

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Pete Rose believes Astros’ cheating was worse than his betting on the sport

According to Pete Rose, the Astros’ cheating scandal is worse than what he did to be put on the league’s permanently ineligible list.

According to Pete Rose, the Astros’ cheating scandal is worse than what he did to be put on the league’s permanently ineligible list.

Yankees minor-league affiliate trolls the Astros with a mini trash can giveaway

SHADE.

The Staten Island Yankees are the Class A (short season) affiliates of the New York Yankees, but even the lower-level club is getting in on mocking the Astros cheating scandal.

As part of a promotion for Staten Island’s game against the Houston-affiliate Tri-City ValleyCats, the Yankees are planning to give away mini trash cans to the first 500 fans in attendance. The big-league Astros, of course, used a trashcan to relay off-speed pitches to the batter as part of their cheating scheme.

MLB issued its punishment to the Astros on Monday, suspending now-former manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow for a year, docking first and second round picks for the next two MLB Drafts and fining the club $5 million.

But hey, free mini trash cans!

It’s unlikely that the New York Yankees were tuned in to this promotion as even the Yankees were fined in 2017 for using the replay room to decode the sign sequences of opposing teams. In a league where cheating and sign-stealing are realistically running rampant, this is the kind of promotion that could backfire.

But on the other hand, I appreciate the creativity and response time that went into trolling the Astros here. We’ll have to see if the giveaway actually happens on Sept. 3.

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