Major League Baseball is only in spring training right now and the Houston Astros probably aren’t having much fun.
The Astros saw manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow get suspended for the 2020 season, lost draft picks, and were fined $5 million for their sign-stealing scandal. Hinch and Luhnow were fired after MLB announced the Astros’ punishment.
No players were punished and Alex Rodriguez says the Astros have shown no remorse.
“You cheat, you win a championship, there is no suspension, and then there’s no remorse,” Rodriguez said during ESPN’s spring training broadcast of the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. “The last one is probably the worst one. From a guy who has made as many mistakes as anybody on the biggest stage—I served the longest suspension in MLB history, it cost me well over $35 million, and you know what? I deserved that. 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 and change my narrative. You have to be accountable. I felt the hatred from the people and I earned it.”
During spring training, the Astros have been booed and trolled. During Monday’s Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Angels game, a mic’d-up Anthony Rizzo said that he didn’t know what pitch was coming next and joked that someone should bang on something to let him know.
Rizzo after doing the math says he has no idea what's coming… "somebody bang for me" – later feels the fastball coming and hits it pic.twitter.com/nLHUWNZjyd
— CJ Fogler (@cjzer0) March 2, 2020
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer intentionally tipped his pitches during Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Can I get a little 🔥 emoji for sitting 97/98 while doing so, Rob? https://t.co/fcoOoX8AsK
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) March 3, 2020
The trolling isn’t limited to baseball. During an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the Houston Roughnecks, the Renegades had some staff members thumping on rubber trash cans at various points of the game.
The Houston Roughnecks are in town, so naturally, the @XFLRenegades staff is beating on trash cans in honor of the Astros. #XFL #MLB pic.twitter.com/zOarAs7Acw
— Max Preston (@MaxPrestonTV) March 1, 2020
Shots fired at the @astros. Renegades personnel on the field have been banging on trash cans when Houston is on offense. #TexasThrowdown pic.twitter.com/tjtyWYbwM9
— Alonzo Olmedo (@OlmedoAEO) March 1, 2020
While the Astros probably don’t like the trolling, they deserve it. Now, maybe they will think twice about cheating again.
