Baseball is back! Which means we can once again start tracking some of our favorite three letter stats like ERA, RBI, and OBP.
As he reminded us on Tuesday, some fans will also be happy to keep an eye on HBP, at least for the Houston Astros games.
When it comes to major league cheats, the four-month hiatus imposed by the new coronavirus pandemic has meant that more than a few people have waited a long time to see some more border justice.
In an exhibition showdown Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals, three Astros sank, to the delight of certain segments of the virtual peanut gallery. Not just any of the Astros, but three of their biggest stars, all of whom were on the 2017-18 teams accused in January by MLB of using an illegal sign-stealing scheme on the way to a Series victory. World Cup: Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman – who were hit in consecutive at-bats in the second inning – and George Springer.
There may have been no real intention from Royals pitchers Jorge Lopez and Jackson Kowar, especially since Altuve and Bregman were hit with loaded bases. Also, the launch that found Springer’s shoulder was a ball breaking 75 mph, not the kind of chin music through the fastball that one would expect if an angry message were sent.
On the other hand . . . What better time to mislead people than hitting hitters with their bags raised? Not that racing counted for much, since this was an exhibition game. By that logic, Tuesday was definitely the day to throw a ‘Stro, because the regular 60 game season starts on Thursday.
We know that at least one member of the Royals is, or was, very upset by the cheating scandal and how it could have benefited Houston’s second-baseman.
“I will consider myself a star [for the 2018 season], with everything that came out of the Astros, because Jose Altuve took my place in that game, “Kansas City second baseman / outfielder Whit Merrifield said in January. we will throw a Silver Slugger as a measure. “
In any case, some fans were happy to see several Astros threatened on the plate, particularly as they won’t be properly booed this season, which with no fans allowed in the stands.
Perhaps no one was more pleased than Brendan Donley, who launched a Twitter account called 2020 Astros Shame Tour (@AsteriskTour) in February, just as players were gathering for what everyone assumed would be normal spring training followed by a game. normal 162 games. season.
The account’s first tweet mocked apologies offered just a couple of days earlier by members of the Astros organization, including Altuve and Bregman, as well as team owner Jim Crane.
“This is not how you apologize,” Donley told The Washington Post in February. “For some people, there is nothing they can say that can bring them back to goodwill, but for many of us, if you just said, ‘I’m so sorry, I know I did something wrong, I will never do it again and we are ashamed of what we do. that we’ve done, ‘I feel like people would accept that.’
The Astros Shame Tour 2020 tracked Houston players who were hit by pitches, which initially appeared to be happening with remarkable frequency, and were booed or interrupted in various ways, until March 11. Then it all stopped and Donley stayed to mock the Astros as best he could for weeks before Tuesday’s game.
In addition to the feeling among many baseball fans that the 2017 Astros championship was illegitimate, what caused enormous frustration over the scandal was that while the team manager and general manager were quickly suspended and fired, the aftermath Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran also found work difficult. None of the players who participated in the scheme were directly punished.
That meant it would let fans punish players by raining boos on them on every road trip. Those 81 light-hearted prank games won’t happen now, so while no one wants to see Houston hitters get injured, opposing pitchers will be left to make sure some kind of price is paid.
Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger said of the Astros in January: “I don’t think it’s a few comfortable turns for many of those guys, and it shouldn’t be that way.”
“I mean, watching the game in its own right, keeping everyone safe,” Clevinger added at the time. “But I think the players will face it as it should be throughout the league.”
Whether intentional or not, justice began to take place on Tuesday, giving fans outside Houston just one more reason to be excited about the return of baseball.
