After news broke of the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing scheme in 2017, the sports world did not hesitate in branding the club as an outcast of despicable cheaters. Such a strong reaction was for the most part understandable. Cheating had existed in baseball for more than a century and stealing signs is perhaps as old as the game itself, but the particular utilization of high tech to relay signs to hitters in real-time with smooth efficiency led to many dubbing the scandal the most egregious in baseball since the 1919 Black Sox.
Despite reports of other teams engaging in similar activities, the Astros were swiftly made out to be the lone offenders.