Trevor Bauer on Houston Astros in 2020: "I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters"
LA Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was one of the many high-profile players to bash the Houston Astros for their sign-stealing scheme back in 2017, the year they won the World Series.
In a press conference in 2020, Bauer labeled the Astros players "cheaters" and "hypocrites."
"I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself," Bauer said.
In an interview with Marc Carig of The Athletic in February 2020, he said that he’s hopeful that the scandal creates a “new culture’ around the MLB.
"This is a very, very, very important time for the baseball industry. There are two paths forward. One, it gets squashed, tries to get forgotten about … 'Hey, let's get back to life how it was, and let's go forward with that.' That's one route. The other route is you establish a new norm. You change the culture and move forward."
Other players who have openly spoken up about the Astros scandal are Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger.
Mike Trout comments on the Astros cheating scandal. https://t.co/5aQJDF6Wrw
Trout said he did not like the fact that the Astros players escaped scot-free.
"I don't agree with the punishments, you know, the players not getting anything. It was player-driven," Trout said. "Going up to the plate knowing what's coming ... that would be a lot of fun."
You can see how visibly pissed Cody Bellinger is when talking about the Astros https://t.co/QUXiNwzbxd
Bellinger, meanwhile, said the Astros blatantly cheated their way to the title.
"Those guys were cheating for three years. I think what people don't realize is [Jose] Altuve stole an MVP from [Aaron] Judge in 2017. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us. But it's over," Cody Bellinger added.
What was the punishment for the Houston Astros for their role in the scandal?
In MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's report, he said that even though it was impossible to say if the Houston Astros' conduct changed the outcome of any games, there was a perception that it caused harm to the sport.
The Astros were on the receiving end of multiple disciplinary punishments.
Didn’t really expect the punishments to be this harsh. Good for MLB stepping up. Still don’t know what’s more frustrating tho, an ex teammate of the WS title team talking publicly about his team cheating or so many guys being down to use a damn trash can lol. Should take the ring
Jeff Luhnow, GM of the Houston Astros, was suspended from January 2020 through the end of the World Series that year. He was not allowed to work for any team during that time, and could not be present anywhere near the club's facility. He was also fired by the Astros.
Jeff Luhnow, fired by Astros, says he’d have ended sign stealing "had I known about it" wapo.st/3dKWipj
The Houston Astros lost first- and second-round picks in both the 2020 and 2021 drafts. The team was also fined $5 million, which was the maximum fine eligible.