Astros manager Dusty Baker made an argument to Major League Baseball, to protect his players from retaliation from opposing pitchers. Which has validity, especially with the many players on opposing teams who have voiced their displeasure.
But what about Gerrit Cole? The pitcher signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees this past off-season. Cole was a vital part of the Astros pitching staff over the last two seasons. He posted a 35-10 record in that span. That record and his dominance led to his contract in the first place.
While Major League Baseball has reviewed and issued punishments relating to the 2017 season and World Series Championship. The investigation also concluded that the sign-stealing carried into the 2018 season.
Cole was traded to the Astros from the Pittsburgh Pirates in January of 2018.
The 29-year-old was questioned at length this past week after pitchers and catchers reported for Spring Training. He deflected many of the questions, claiming he was unaware of anything going on.
Gerrit Cole says he doesn't feel the need to address the Astros situation with his teammates:
"I had no idea of any of it going on…I certainly don't think I have much to apologize for" pic.twitter.com/goXJTk9LnE
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 13, 2020
But it’s hard to believe that he knew nothing about it. Some of his new teammates in New York have also said as much. The whole scandal is so widespread.
Carlos Beltran who was a member of the Astros in 2017, he and the Mets “mutually agreed” to part ways, just 77 days after he got the job, after the results of MLB investigation were made public.
Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox game to a similar “agreement” days earlier. Cora was also a member of the Astros organization in 2017 and the manager of the 2018 World Champion Red Sox, which has many questioning if he brought the cheating with him.
Astros players who MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has been adamant about players not being pushed.
But players who were and are still part of the from that 2017 team, show no remorse, no regret. Despite the findings in the investigation many of those same players still believe they won the World Series fair and square.
Cole was under immense pressure the day he signed his mega-contract with the Yankees. New York and its sports media is a whole different beast when it comes to scrutinizing their players. But after the league handed down punishments, whether he knew about it or not or if he participated and benefited from it or not, he’s either guilty because he’s guilty or simply guilty by association, whether fairly or not.
Many questions will likely remain unanswered: Will the league will intervene if Astros batters start to get hit by pitches? If the opposing teams and pitchers are warned about retaliating, will they still do it to prove a point? But most importantly, in the Bronx, will Cole struggle to get out from under the cloud of suspicion that surrounds him?
