Astros fire their manager and GM for stealing signs

Associated Press

HOUSTON — Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired Monday after the pair were suspended by Major League Baseball for the team’s sign-stealing during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and during the 2018 season.

In the sport’s largest scandal since the Biogenesis drug suspensions in 2013, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the discipline Monday and strongly hinted that current Boston manager Alex Cora— the Astros bench coach in 2017 — will face equal or more severe punishment. Manfred said Cora developed the sign-stealing system used by the Astros. The Red Sox are under investigation for sign stealing in Cora’s first season as manager in 2018, when the Red Sox won the World Series.

Houston was fined $5 million — the maximum allowed under the Major League Constitution. The Astros will forfeit their next two first- and second-round draft picks.

In addition, former Astros GM Brandon Taubman was suspended through the World Series for his conduct during last year’s AL Championship Series, when his profane remarks directed at female reporters led to his firing by Houston, which at first denied the incident and later apologized.

Manfred said owner Jim Crane was not aware of the sign stealing. An hour after MLB announced its decision, Crane opened a news conference by saying Hinch and Luhnow were fired.

“We need to move forward with a clean slate,” he said.

Houston was a big league-best 204-120 during the two years in question, winning its first title. Manfred painted a picture of a team management solely focused on winning.

“It is very clear to me that the culture of the baseball operations department, manifesting itself in the way its employees are treated, its relations with other clubs, and its relations with the media and external stakeholders, has been very problematic,” Manfred wrote in a nine-page statement. “At least in my view, the baseball operations department’s insular culture — one that valued and rewarded results over other considerations, combined with a staff of individuals who often lacked direction or sufficient oversight, led, at least in part, to the Brandon Taubman incident, the club’s admittedly inappropriate and inaccurate response to that incident, and finally, to an environment that allowed the conduct described in this report to have occurred.”

Baseball’s response was far greater than that of the NFL to a similar infraction. New England coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 in 2007 and the Patriots were fined $250,000 for using video to capture an opponent’s signals. In the scandal known as Spygate, the Patriots also were stripped of a first-round draft choice. They were penalized again for $1 million eight years later for deflating footballs for use in the AFC championship game. The NFL took away a first-round draft pick and suspended quarterback Tom Brady for four games.

Manfred said Hinch was aware of the system but did not tell Luhnow.

“As the person with responsibility for managing his players and coaches, there simply is no justification for Hinch’s failure to act,” Manfred said.

The GM told Major League Baseball he was unaware of the system, but Manfred held him accountable for the team’s actions.

“Although Luhnow denies having any awareness that his replay review room staff was decoding and transmitting signs, there is both documentary and testimonial evidence that indicates Luhnow had some knowledge of those efforts, but he did not give it much attention,” Manfred said. “Irrespective of Luhnow’s knowledge of his club’s violations of the rules, I will hold him personally accountable for the conduct of his club.”

Current New York Mets manager Carlos Beltrán, then a player with the Astros, was among the group involved. Manfred said no Astros players will be disciplined because he decided in September 2017 to hold a team’s manager and GM responsible.

“Virtually all of the Astros’ players had some involvement or knowledge of the scheme, and I am not in a position based on the investigative record to determine with any degree of certainty every player who should be held accountable, or their relative degree of culpability,” Manfred wrote. “It is impractical given the large number of players involved, and the fact that many of those players now play for other clubs. …

“Some players may have understood that their conduct was not only condoned by the club, but encouraged by it,” Manfred added. “This was misconduct committed by the team.”

Baseball’s investigation began when former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, now with Oakland, made the allegations in a report by The Athletic on Nov. 12.

MLB’s Department of Investigations interviewed 27 witnesses, including 23 current and former Houston players, and reviewed thousands of emails, Slack communications, text messages, video clips and photographs.

“Some Astros players told my investigators that they did not believe the sign-stealing scheme was effective, and it was more distracting than useful to hitters,” Manfred said. “I am neither in a position to evaluate whether the scheme helped Astros hitters … nor whether it helped the Astros win any games.”

Astros employees in the team’s video replay room started to decode signs using the center field camera at the start of the 2017 season. A player would act as a runner to bring the information to the dugout, where a runner on second would be signaled. The runner would decode the catcher’s sign and signal the batter. At times, an employee in the replay room would convey the information by text message to the watch or phone of a staff member in the dugout.

Cora began calling the replay room for the information early in the season. After a group of players that included Beltrán discussed how to improve the system about two months into the season, Cora arranged for a video monitor of the center field camera to be installed next to the dugout and players would communicate pitches by banging a bat or massage gun on a trash can. Two bangs usually were used for off-speed pitches and no sound for fastballs.

Manfred said that the banging system was not used in 2018 but that signs were stolen by the replay room and communicated to the dugout during at least part of that season. There was no evidence signs were stolen during the 2018 playoffs.

Taubman can apply to Manfred for reinstatement after the World Series, and any future violations of Major League Rules would lead to a lifetime ban.

The Mets and Beltrán declined comment, spokesman Harold Kaufman said.