The 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros was a back-and-forth, evenly matched seven-game series that many viewed as one of the best Fall Classics of all-time.
That has since been tainted as the Astros were found guilty of electronic sign stealing, with the consequences being a $5 million fine, loss of future draft picks and suspensions for general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch.
Astros owner Jim Crane subsequently fired both Luhnow and Hinch, although none of the players involved were punished as they were granted immunity by Major League Baseball for cooperating with the investigation.
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran also lost their respective jobs for their roles in the scandal.
In an interview with Tom Verducci on MLB Network, Hinch spoke for the first time since the punishments were handed down, and explained why he believes there is not one set answer as to whether or not the Astros’ championship is now tainted:
“It’s a fair question, and I think everyone is going to have to draw their own conclusion. I hope over time and the demonstration with the talents of this team, the players, the careers that are being had — these are some of the best players in the entire sport, all together on the same team. I hope over time it’s proven that it wasn’t.
“But I understand the question. It’s a fair question and people are going to have to draw their own conclusions. Unfortunately, we opened that door as a group. And that question may never be answered, we may never know. We’re going to have to live and move forward and be better in the sport. But unfortunately, no one can really answer that question. I can’t pinpoint what advantages or what happened or what exactly would have happened otherwise. But we did it to ourselves.”
A number of Dodgers, including Alex Wood, have been vocal about how big of a deal electronic sign stealing is, which is why they are not satisfied with the punishments that were handed down by MLB.
Additionally, numerous members of the Dodgers organization have questioned why Astros players have yet to show remorse for their actions. Hinch got in front of the camera and issued an apology during his MLB Network interview, but the players will likely need to do the same when they report to Spring Training.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is close friends with Hinch, and recently said their personal relationship has been unaffected by the cheating scandal.
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