Jose Altuve, one of the most disciplined and longest-serving players of the Houston Astros, faced significant criticism during the 2017 and 2018 seasons when the sign-stealing scandal emerged. The Astros went on to win the 2017 World Series, but an MLB investigation concluded in 2020 found the team guilty.
As a result, although the organization was not stripped of the championship, it was fined, lost draft picks, and its then-manager, A.J. Hinch, and GM, Jeff Luhnow, were dismissed. Recently, Houston’s former skipper, Dusty Baker, who took over from Hinch after the investigation concluded, reflected on how he believed Altuve bore the majority of the blame, even when he believed Altuve was innocent.
“You know the guy who took the brunt of it was really Jose Altuve, and he was really the most innocent dude there. That really affected me, how he was treated and he didn’t deserve it,” Baker said via All The Smoke podcast.
Fans expressed mixed reactions to Baker’s views on Altuve’s involvement in the incident and shared them on social media.
“I’ll defend Altuve to the grave,” one fan commented.
“He was the captain of the team and let his team cheat. He deserves his boos. But i also don’t care now because fuck the Dodgers,” another fan commented.
“He knew about it lol It’s okay he has a real ring in 2022, 2017 will never count nor be respected,” yet another fan commented.
Some other fans called out the iconic moment when Altuve hit the walk-off home run to send the Astros to the 2019 World Series, noting that his teammates did not rip his jersey as he approached home plate, with many speculating he wore a wire to read the signals then.
Another fan responded, stating that the Venezuelan was the team’s captain and should have stepped up to denounce the entire cheating scandal, even though the clubhouse was accused of actively reading signals in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
“you will never get me to believe he didn’t want his teammates ripping his jersey off after a walk off homer because of a half done tattoo… innocent my a**!” one fan commented.
“But did he do anything to prevent it? Nope. magine the leader of the team knowing his teammates were cheating but not doing a single thing to stop it because his team was benefiting from it,” another fan commented.
“Hits the biggest home run of his career and immediately runs into the clubhouse so they don’t rip his shirt off I mean come on. Seriously?” yet another fan commented.
Jose Altuve Had Issued an Apology For the Astros’ Sign-Stealing Scandal
After the MLB investigation concluded in 2020, resulting in a $5 million fine for the organization and the 2020 and 2021 draft pick penalties, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve, alongside team owner Jim Crane, issued an unconditional apology, expressing remorse for the incident that transpired over more than one season.
“We especially feel remorse for the impact on our fans and the game of baseball, and our team is determined to move forward, to play with intensity and to bring back a championship to Houston,” Altuve said.
Back on the field, Houston is in fourth place in the AL West division with a 17-28 record. They started their seven-game homestand with a four-game series loss to the Seattle Mariners and will now host the Texas Rangers for a three-game series at Daikin Park, beginning Friday.
So far this season, Altuve’s offensive performance has been below average, with a .245 batting average, three home runs, and 11 RBIs.
Also read:
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in baseball, tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
