Baseballs Goliaths Caught in Scandal

In 1919, the Chicago White Sox went to the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox lost to the Reds in a series that would change how the game was played and run by officials forever.

The White Sox intentionally lost the world series against the Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate. If you go into any clubhouse in Major League Baseball you will see a sign that says there is no gambling permitted in baseball.

Pete Rose, the all time hits leader in professional baseball, knows all too well what happens if you break this rule. It has kept him out of the Hall of Fame and he is still criticized by people in the game today.

Cheating in the game has never been tolerated, and Major League Baseball showed us once again how seriously they take this issue. The Houston Astros were caught in a cheating scandal where they used technology to steal signs from the opposing team. This has made current players outraged. Players are asking the commissioner to hand down stiffer penalties to the Astros player. Many are asking the commissioner to take their rings away to take back. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the many teams frustrated. Especially after being beaten by the Astros in the 2017 World Series.

An asterisks will be next to the Astros championship forever and many people have already declared the Dodger as champions due to the scandal. Ken Rosenthal, an MLB reporter, says

“This is the biggest thing to happen in baseball since the steroid era. Many players and executives believe this is bigger than the steroid era, and give players an even larger advantage,” Mike Trout, the best player in baseball said, “I’d rather know what was coming then being juiced. If I knew what was coming I’d hit 70 home runs.”

If you are on steroids you still can get fooled by the hitter. The effect of knowing what pitch is coming at you gives a major advantage to the hitter and can completely alter the game.

Major punishments need to be handed down to the players. For nothing to happen to the players in this situation isn’t right. There should be steep penalties such as either taking the rings back or stripping the Astros championship title. Stephen A Smith, a sports reporter, says he thinks the Astros should be banned the first 60 games of the season and start in the whole at 0-60. This is one idea I really like.

I also think the Astros should have even more picks taken from them. Commissioner Rob Manfred fired the Astros GM and their manager. This is a major problem in the game and will change baseball forever.