The Astros Cheating Scandal: Why Rob Manfred Made The Hard But Right Decision

Cheating has been a constant phenomenon in sports ever since they were established. In NCAA basketball, yearly investigations into paying players often shakes the foundation of the league. In baseball, the steroid era brought the legacy of many of the game’s greatest into question. This offseason, another chapter was added to the seemingly never-ending story of cheating at the highest levels of sports. Though an actually meaningful MLB game has not been played in over four months, there has been plenty of offseason news that will shape the league for years to come. Perhaps the most interesting storyline of this offseason was the investigation into the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing. After weeks of investigation, the final report concluded that the Astros had used an application on a mobile device to steal signs during their World Series winning season in 2017. The outcry from the baseball world was strong; many baseball fans called for the permanent ban of those associated with the sign stealing scandal. Rob Manfred, the commissioner of the MLB, was tasked with handing down a fair punishment. Ultimately, the commissioner came to a controversial decision by choosing to release the details of the report but handing down minimal retribution. Here we examine the pros of the commissioner's decision:

The commissioner's decision was justified. Rob Manfred was faced with an unprecedented situation only paralleled by the 1909 White Sox, who bet against themselves in the World Series. A whole professional team allegedly bought into this corrupt scheme, giving themselves an unfair advantage which arguably led them to a championship. Instead of crippling the Astros organization himself, Manfred let the public shame wear on the Astros. He did enforce several minor punishments including taking away their top two draft picks for the next two years and fining the organization $5,000,000, a modest amount for a team who brought in $347,000,000 in their championship-winning 2017 season. However, perhaps nothing is worse than being labeled a cheating fraud by the entire world of baseball. These players had to go home to their families knowing they had lied and were deceitful. In addition, by releasing the contents of the investigation, AJ Hinch, the manager of the Astros, and Jeff Luhow, the general manager of the Astro, were both fired from their respective positions. At the end of the day, it is management's job to keep the players in line on the field; it is under management's watch that this occurred. In addition, the elaborate scheme that the Astros were able to set up—using a phone app to steal signs—would not have been possible without not only the knowledge of management, but perhaps also the help of management.

In addition, the public shaming by both Astros players’ peers and fans added to the situation. Some called José Altuve a thief because he had an unfair advantage that allowed him to win the MVP award in 2017. For reference, rookie Aaron Judge hit 53 home runs and deserved the award as well. All in all, though Manfred handed down very little material punishment, it is unfair to the Astros fan base to cripple their franchise. They were not involved in the cheating. By making the investigation and all information on the scandal public, Manfred is allowing the public to deal their punishment.