Everyone knows about the Houston Astros scandal that shocked the world of baseball this past off-season, but does everyone know how it started? Does anyone even realize, without the power Twitter has these days, the Astros may have never gotten caught?
The Breakdown
To understand how social media caused the Astros to get caught, you must first understand the scandal itself. Early on in the 2017 season, the Houston Astros bench coach Alex Cora began calling the video replay room from the dugout phone to get information on opposing catchers' signals. This was successful for the Astros, so in the middle of the 2017 season, Carlos Beltran (Astros Outfielder) and potentially other players discuss how the team could decode opposing team's signs and communicate them to the batter. The Astros decided they would bang a.. trashcan. They would bang a trash can from the dugout so hitters could hear what pitch was coming. One bang for a fastball, two for an off-speed, three for a curve or slider. With these ILLEGAL techniques, the Astros won the 2017 World Series, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Blow-Up
Fast forward, nearly two years after the World Series win. The Athletic, a sports-based writing company, was interviewing fromer Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers (who had played for the 2017 World Series winning team). In this interview, Fiers blew the whole operation up. Mike Fiers was one of four former members of the Houston Astros organization who confirmed the use of electronic sign-stealing methods to The Athletic but the only one named at the time. In the same article in The Athletic, Danny Farquhar reveals that while pitching for the Chicago White Sox in September of 2017, he had gestured towards his ear after hearing a banging noise coming from the Houston Astros dugout every time a changeup signal was shown.
The Backlash
The consequnces of the cheating are still being revealed. For starters, the manager of the Astros during the scandal, AJ Hinch, was fired. The bench coach for the 2017 Astros, who had become the head manager of the Boston Red Sox, was also fired. Carlos Beltran, outfielder for the 2017 Astros, got fired from the Mets without being able to ever manage one single inning. The Astros’ punishment also includes a $5 million fine and the loss of their first- and second-round draft picks in both 2020 and ’21. So far in Spring Training, seven different batters have been hit by a pitch. Fans have crucified the team for having no remorse for their actions.
Social Media
You may be thinking, how does social media play into any of this? First off, Mike Fiers would have never leaked the information if it wasn't for The Athletic asking him questions about his time with the team, that they were publishing for Twitter. Secondly, Twitter was a breeding ground for even more accusations against the Astros. Jomboy, the unoffcial leader of Yankees Twitter, used MLB's replay games on YouTube to make his own video on the cheating scandal. Jomboy points out when you can hear the bangs in actual gameplay.
In the end, it's safe to say without Twitter, the biggest scandal in the hstory of baseball would have ever seen the light of day.