Opinion | Astros lose, but integrity doesn’t win

Joe Perrino, Sports Editor

Absolute trash cans. 

In 2017, the Houston Astros won the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. Two years later, after they lost the 2019 World Series to the Washington Nationals, the MLB discovered an Astros scandal that involved the team using an illegal system to decipher what pitch opposing pitchers were throwing.

Over this past offseason, the Astros were punished for their egregious disregard of the integrity of America’s pastime. However, the retribution they faced was not nearly enough for the severity of the acts they committed. Sure, they were fined millions of dollars, faced suspensions and expulsions in their front office and had draft picks revoked, but there was no player discipline and they were allowed to keep their World Series title.

With that weak punishment, the Astros were allowed to participate in the 2020 MLB season virtually scot-free. Unfortunately for all baseball fans not living in Houston, Texas, they fought their way through the first two rounds of the playoffs and found themselves in the American League Championship Series. Thankfully, they lost in Game 7 to the Tampa Bay Rays.

It should’ve been the best feeling – a deserved comeuppance for a team of villains. But instead, I felt hollow. 

Frankly, they didn’t even deserve to be in that series for what they’d done in the first place. 

For those who are unfamiliar with the cheating scandal, the Astros were working with a camera crew to relay signs from the opposing team’s catcher to someone in the dugout, who would then use a non-verbal form of communication – like banging a trash can – to tell the Houston batter what pitch was coming. 

Cheating has been a tricky subject in baseball for a long time. Smaller forms, such as pitchers using pine tar to gain a better grip on the ball, are often considered simple gamesmanship. This, however, was not only illegal, but ludicrous and universally despised. 

So with such a horrendous act of cheating, something that we have never seen before, what action should or could have been taken?

While it would be ideal, they can’t just delete the franchise. But the MLB could have removed the Astros from contention. There should have been a playoff ban, at least for the 2020 season. The league could’ve even taken away first-round draft picks from the team, removing a chance for them to improve in the near future. Why reward Houston with a normal opportunity to win another World Series, when the original wasn’t even revoked?

So, no – integrity did not win despite the Astros losing. In the future, there needs to be a harsher punishment for something this severe. Take away their title, take away their players, coaches and personnel, even ban them if necessary. However, until the MLB can see the severity of that issue, we’ll have to put our trust in the baseball gods to restore law and order in our league.