I am so excited to talk about this, I have a firm opinion on this topic, and I know many people do. I originally wrote this piece back in April of 2020. Before we get into this former 2pt piece, if you need to make some extra cash, try Stash-It The business is like AirBnB but for the self-storage industry. So people can rent out their garage or storage shed and even their driveway for others to use. If you have space, list it on their website. It's completely free, and they only make money if you do. You set the price! You set the terms! Use the promo code "Young" and use your storage space to make some easy money! Stashitselfstorage.com
Where do I even start on how I feel about the Astros? Well, as a Seattle Mariners fan, I haven't liked them for a few years. But that's just from a rival division standpoint. Honestly, I think what they did was lower than the Blacksox scandal. I believe it to be worse than anything Barry Bonds and other PED users did and 10x worse than what Pete Rose did. Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended by MLB for the 2020 season without pay and then fired by the team. The Astros were stripped of four high draft picks and slapped with a $5-million fine. Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, a driving force behind the sign-stealing scheme when he was Houston's bench coach in 2017, and former New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran, a veteran participant in the project Astros outfielder in 2017, also was fired.
So why didn't they get stripped of the 2017 WS Title? This is what Manfred said "First, it had never happened in baseball, and I'm a precedent guy," Manfred said. "Second, I believe the most fundamental obligation was to get the facts, put them out there and let people make their own judgment as to what happened in the 2017 season and playoffs. "Whether or not you put an asterisk next to it or ask for the trophy back, I don't think it makes that much difference. Once you go down that road of changing what happens on the field, I don't know how you decide where to stop. Now here is what myself and I see a lot of others think: THIS IS COMPLETE BS! There is something to compare this to the Blacksox scandal. The next thing is to let people make their judgment; well, Manfred doesn't have the backbone to punish the Astros. STRIP the TITLE! It was not won fairly; it is degrading to the sport of baseball, and Manfred made the MLB look like a joke with this punishment. The punishment should have been this; in my opinion: A.J. Hinch, Jeff Luhnow, Alex Cora, Carlos Beltran, all who were fired- should be banned from the MLB and put on the ineligible list. The players who were found guilty of participating should have been suspended for 2020 and were not eligible for the HOF. I think the draft picks and fairs were relatively weak. I believe the 5Mil fine should be a yearly fine that affects player payroll. The 2017 WS title should be removed from the Astros, much like how Barry Bonds's name is removed from the HR king spot.
The way the Astros responded was also ridiculous. They said they didn't do anything wrong; they didn't admit to any fault. They still think they deserve the WS title. They were unapologetic in their press conferences. This all tells me they are guilty and know they got off easy, and it doesn't matter what they say. A lack of remorse from the team is again embarrassing for the MLB. Manfred is a disgrace to the MLB Commissioner title for this terrible punishment, and the MLB takes a big hit in terms of fan support because of him. Overall, just writing and talking about all this with friends and fellow baseball fans, many people are outraged because of the punishment Pete Rose has dealt with. But I want to also throw Barry Bonds and Curt Schilling into this to illustrate how inconsistent penalties are in the MLB.
Thank you for hanging in there, guys. Now let's talk about my opinion on Pete Rose and how the all-time hits leader in the MLB wraps into this fiasco.
Pete Rose Career:
Let's get into this; as you and I both know, Pete Rose is the MLB all-time Hits leader, which is no small accomplishment, in my opinion. Coming in with over 4200 hits. This was accomplished in his 24th season when he was a player-coach for the Reds. As many people already know, he had been betting on baseball for a while when someday finally caught. As we learned from the Blacksox scandal in 1919, betting was positively forbidden during MLB. Pete Rose was caught in 1989; his career ended with 4256 hits, a 303BA, 1314RBI, and a managing record of 412-373. WHAT A HALL OF FAME RESUME, am I right? During the 1970s, he was the face of "The Big Red Machine" that dominated the NL. He appeared in 4 World Series and has two titles from those four trips. Let me continue to add to his HOF resume: 17x All-Star, Rookie of the Year, MVP, World Series MVP, 2x Gold Glove, 3x Batting Title, Silver Slugger oh and won a WS as a player-coach. You give me three players with that kind of track record that never used a PED or are currently on the pace. The only few players I can see getting close to are Mike Trout, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuna.
But when he got caught for his betting on games in 1989, that was all over. But, what kind of betting was he doing? I will ask a few more follow up questions on this: Was he betting on losing games?- No. What he betting and throwing games? No, Was he betting on his team to lose? No. Was he betting on his team to WIN? YES!!!! He betted on his team to win and ended up on the MLB Ineldigble list with a lifetime ban. He should be considered for what should be a first-ballot HOF nomination. When we see the likes of Barry Bonds and Rodger Clements on the Ballot, now fast forward to 2020 after multiple appeals, public apologies, and throwing out the first pitch in a Reds home opener and being welcomed back into the community by the fans. What now? Now it's 2020, and we have seen new laws on Sports Betting happen, sights like FanDuel where you can set daily bets on players and teams. You can bet on every single measurable statistic if you're into that. Then the Astros got handed the weakest punishment in MLB history, in my opinion. What should happen to Pete Rose? Reinstate Pete! That's the easy answer to this situation, but let me explain why I think so. The Astros precedent that Manfred claims he has set for things like this was his stamp that he doesn't care about cheating in the MLB and that there is no real punishment that's lasting and sends a message. To recap, my idea for an actual sentence was: A.J. Hinch, Jeff Luhnow, Alex Cora, Carlos Beltran, all who were fired- should be banned from the MLB and put on the ineligible list. The players who were found guilty of participating should have been suspended for 2020 and were not eligible for the HOF. I believe the 5Mil fine should be a yearly fine that affects player payroll. The 2017 WS title should be removed from the Astros, much like how Barry Bonds's name is removed from the HR king spot.
Well, since the actual punishment was nowhere close to that by a long shot. Pete Rose, who did not hurt and disgrace the game the way Manfred and the Astro's have. Pete Rose bet on his Team to Win, which he could have bet to loose and thrown games. Which he never did. He was smart enough to know which matchups to exploit and how to get the best of them to win. Overall. The RIGHT thing for the MLB to do is reinstate Pete Rose, get him on the HOF ballot and into the HOF where he rightfully belongs based on statistics alone! He never bet to lose or throw a game. He did not ever throw a game or cheat to win one of those games he bet on. Pete Rose has shown remorse, apologized, and been reaccepted into MLB culture by fans, players, and analysts. Manfred, if you want to do anything right for the MLB, reinstate Pete.
Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you enjoyed one of the early In My Opinion Pieces I created. Thank you for your time in reading and head on over to the forums, and let's talk more about this topic!