If you blinked this week you missed the denouement of Major League Baseball’s sign stealing scandal. The more I’ve thought about it, the more convinced I am that was probably by design.
When Commissioner Rob Manfred released his report on the Astros in January it seemed like an opening salvo in a much larger scandal. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were both suspended for 2020 and subsequently fired, the team lost their first and second round draft picks and the league levied the maximum fine of $5 million against the club. While many people thought the Astros’ punishments should have been stronger it seemed clear that the discipline wouldn’t stop with the Astros.