Pressure is being put upon the Astros players to apologize for “cheating.” The owner of the Astros is evidently promoting this apology thing. I can’t imagine that Astros fans care.
The White Sox signed an ex 1967 Astro pitcher this winter; he is the first one to apologize. Makes me wonder how much of a competitor he is. If the players apologize, I suppose many of them will do so with their fingers crossed behind their back.
MLB should have let the fans decide from the beginning on how serious this “cheating” was to the integrity of the game by allowing fans to cast their vote by buying tickets or not.
Unfortunately, the media fans the flames of this sort of thing. I strongly suspect that virtually all or at least most of the teams have some sort of electronic system of sign stealing, that they have used in recent years.
No one I have been reading has picked up on is the obligation of the other team to watch for sign stealing and constantly be changing signs. Likely, more successful teams with smart coaches and managers are doing this, thus neutralizing the sign stealing or even making it counterproductive.
The “scandal” might end up doing the Astros good; now they have more to prove, that they can win W.S. without using the electronic devices.
What is the answer?
In April we will hear the magical words: “PLAY BALL!” After the game, let the media report on the performance of the individual players and the teams.