The Houston Astros were punished for their 2017 sign-stealing scheme, in which they used the center field camera to decode catcher signs and people in the dugout relayed the information by banging a trash can.
It was a real-time scheme that was complex in nature, but very successful on the field, leading to career-seasons by many Astros hitters and a World Series title that year.
The New York Yankees were busted on Tuesday as sign-stealing offenders, too, just not quite at the Astros’ level.
They used video replay room cameras to decode signs, and a runner at second base would relay these signs to the hitter.
That information became public today, as SNY’s reporter Andy Martino published the famous letter that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sent to general manager Brian Cashman about sign-stealing.
People In Houston Are Upset
The Yankees received a $100,000 fine at the time.
The Astros were fined $5 million, lost first and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, and general manager Jeff Lunhow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for a year.
Houston media is not happy that the Yankees are, apparently, not being punished enough for what they did.
One reason MLB has so much info on the Astros is because they interviewed everyone and gave the players immunity.
That didn’t happen with the Yankees. Do that deep dive and you uncover a lot more, but that was a surface level investigation.
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) April 26, 2022
“One reason MLB has so much info on the Astros is because they interviewed everyone and gave the players immunity. That didn’t happen with the Yankees. Do that deep dive and you uncover a lot more, but that was a surface level investigation,” Jeremy Branham tweeted.
ESPN analyst Jeff Passan tweeted on Tuesday that what the Yankees did can’t really be compared to what the Astros did.
The infamous Yankees Letter … is pretty much a nothing-burger. Says the Yankees used their replay room to decode catchers' signs and relay them to runners on second — which multiple teams were doing. Does not find they were illicitly using CF camera. @martinonyc had it first.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 26, 2022
Houston fans, and even media members, obviously don’t like that, because they have been harassed on social media and in stadiums for a couple of years now.
In any case, the Yankees did something wrong, and that can’t be denied.
But it’s not the same thing that the Astros did.
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