NORTH GATE, Fla. -- Speaking Sunday at Major League Baseball's media day at the Braves' new spring training facility here, commissioner Rob Manfred defended how he handled the investigation into the Astros' sign stealing and the subsequent punishment, which did not include suspending any players or vacating the 2017 World Series title.
Players across the league, including National League MVP Cody Bellinger, have been critical that no players involved were suspended, but Manfred said they are being punished enough already.
“I think if you look at the faces of the Houston players, as they’ve been out there publicly addressing this issue, they have been hurt by this,” Manfred said. “They will live with questions about what went on in 2017 and 2018 for the rest of their lives.”
In order to get truthful information for the investigation, Manfred offered Houston players immunity to talk.
"In a perfect world it would have happened," Manfred said. "We ended up where we ended up in pursuit of really, I think, the most important goal of getting the facts and getting them out there for people to know it.”
There have also been further allegations of the Astros using buzzers to communicate signs for the 2019 season, though Manfred has not found them guilty of doing so.
Manfred said he does not see why players would tell the truth about stealing signs in 2017 and 2018 but then lie about 2019 while they were still granted immunity. However, he cannot say with certainty there weren't buzzers in 2019.
"You're never 100 percent sure in any of these things, but these were my best judgments," he said.
Earlier this month, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal reported on a memo from the commissioner to the Astros that stated the league knew about "Codebreaker," an Excel program designed by the front office to steal signs, independent of the player's electronic camera and trash can sign stealing. This was not mentioned in the original report, and the commissioner was snippy when it was implied his report omitted details.
"You know, congratulations. You got a private letter that, you know, I sent to a club official. Nice reporting on your part," Manfred said to Diamond with more than a hint of contempt.
Meanwhile, Tom Koch-Weser and Derek Vigoa, two of the main figures behind "Codebreaker," both remain employed with the Astros. Manfred referred to them as “relatively junior employees” and has opted to let the team decide their fate.
Finally, as for why the Astros were allowed to retain their championship, Manfred said he decided to let them keep their Commissioner's trophy because "asking for a piece of metal back seems like a futile idea."
“The 2017 World Series will always be looked at as something different,” Manfred said. “Whether or not you put an asterisk or ask for the trophy back, I don’t think it makes that much difference. I think we did what we should do — that was, we found the facts and we were transparent about them.”
All of this comes days after the Astros held their own press conference where owner Jim Crane and players Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman intended to apologize but instead came off as tone deaf.
Manfred's investigation into the Red Sox for their stealing of signs will conclude next week, he said.
To continue reading, log into your account:
