Did Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman Reveal Another Layer of the Astros’ Cheating?
Since the initial report made waves around the MLB about the Houston Astros‘ sign-stealing scandal, it has completely broken down the credibility around the organization. That led to a thorough investigation that led to the league laying out significant punishment to the Astros for their involvement in such a disappointing situation. It hasn’t stopped the downpour of information from making its way out that has seen the Boston Red Sox part ways with manager Alex Cora along with Carlos Beltran deciding to step down from his position with the New York Mets.
What has also become prominent in the entire matter is another possible method that the team went about cheating that has put All-Stars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman front and center.
What is known about the Astros’ cheating scandal
Since the report surfaced, many more details have emerged concerning how the Astros went about their way to get an edge over the opponent.
The bulk of the cheating has reportedly come primarily during home games at Minute Maid Stadium as the team had methods to decode the signs from opposing teams to give their batters the upper hand. One of the ways was that the team would use a tv located in the room situated behind their dugout to decipher the pitch being thrown.
Once decoded, the Astros’ employee in the room would bang a trash can on the ground a certain amount of times to indicate in a matter of seconds what pitch was coming next. That wasn’t the only method, as it’s also suggested the Astros used whistling, such as the tune of “charge,” to specify an off-speed pitch such as a curveball.
Some reports suggest the Astros even had their catchers in the bullpen use the fencing in the outfield to indicate what pitch was coming next. It’s something that now has yet another potential layer to what Houston players were doing to cheat.
More Astros’ cheating exposed?
Yet another layer has been added to the entire matter as the rumor mill has been buzzing on social media. This time it’s a Twitter account claiming to Beltran’s niece has suggested that Jose Altuve used a buzzing device on his right shoulder during the at-bat in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS that saw him hit a series-clinching home run off closer Arodis Chapman.
Since then, there have various other tweets that show Altuve holding his jersey quite suspiciously while appearing to voice “please don’t rip my jersey off.” Following the game-winning home run, he is seen heading down the stars behind the dugout. There are also photos that appear to show a strange bump on Altuve’s shoulder during one of the games.
It’s also suggested that Bregman has also participated in that type of activity, which only further spiked the conversation around the matter. There have been other MLB players such as Trevor Bauer, who has voiced that he has heard about the Astros doing that before. All of this could lead to even greater issues ahead in Houston.
Could this spark more punishment for the Astros?
The Astros are just days removed from receiving some significant punishment from the MLB, which led team owner Jim Crane to part ways with general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch. However, this is an entirely new wave of information that could force the league’s hand.
It’s an entirely new wave of possible information that the MLB could look into as it specifies a pair of prominent players. There could be more that may surface, but if anything, it paints an even more tainted image of the Astros’ organization.
That puts another cloud over the sport that creeps in suspicion if other teams are going to these extents to get an illegal edge. More than that, it hurts the game of baseball to an even higher degree.
