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Keith Strudler: Seeking Baseball Justice

Being from Houston, I have a Houston Astros hat that I like to wear every now and then. And since I was a fan long, long before they joined the American League won a World Series and still remember going to games at the Astrodome as a kid, I feel like I can wear it with some sense of authenticity. At least I used to be able to wear it. Right now, I know wearing that hat is just one step less polarizing than wearing a Make America Great Hat, only without the 40% that still loves it. So my Houston Astros has is currently relegated to the back of my closet along with a collection of birthday sweaters and t-shirts with holes in them.

That is, of course, because of the sign stealing scandal that shook baseball, where the world learned that the Astros used a fairly sophisticated process to steal signs from the other team to know what pitches were coming. And it seems that may have been quite helpful in Houston’s first and only World Series title in 2017. Which has taken them from one of the more likeable teams in all of baseball to an incarnation of the First Order.

For that, the Astros were punished – or I suppose certain members of the Astros were punished, including a $5 million fine, losing a couple of top draft picks, and suspending the manager and GM for a year – both of whom were then fired by the team. But what didn’t happen were either of the following: no players were punished, and the Astros were able to keep their World Series Title. Meaning that even though we’re all clear that Houston maintained an unfair advantage over other teams throughout the season and up to and including the World Series itself, they will be allowed to remain the champions, now and forever. And even though this was largely a player operated scheme – one conceived by an intern, by the way – players would walk away scot free.

That has raised the ire of everyone from fans to current players who did not play for Houston to none other than LeBron James himself, who more often than not offers an opinion on world affairs. In LeBron’s tweet, he advised MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to “listen to his players.” As for the players, last week Yankee right fielder Aaron Judge said that the Astros should be stripped of their title, since they didn’t earn it. That’s a response that’s shared by seemingly a fair number of current players, which puts the Players Union in something of a conundrum. When the Union has a divide in its membership, especially one as potentially egregious as this one, it’s tough to have anything resembling a unified front. Which has led to betting line on how many times an Astros player will be hit by an opposing pitcher this season.

For his part, Manfred has reiterated that the Astros will keep their 2017 title. He didn’t deliver that message well when he said that the World Series trophy was just a piece of metal. It’s a good thing he’s not responsible for awarding Purple Hearts. It is quite likely that the Commissioner will have to walk back that and other comments even as he holds the current line of discipline. And I’d guess that taking a more proactive approach to sign stealing moving forward might appease some folks. Which may or may not be feasible once we learn more about Boston’s inclinations for similar transgressions.

That said, this is simply a reminder that in sport, perhaps the most important social contract is one of fairness. Sports fans, and athletes as well, can tolerate a whole lot. They can take bad draft picks, mediocre officiating, bloated ticket prices, years of losing, bad luck, and incompetent management. And that’s just the Knicks. People will stay loyal as long as they can believe one thing – that in the end, whatever happened was earned. That when the Astros won a title, it happened because they played by the rules, overwhelmed all comers, and walked away victorious. And the team that lost earned that as well. That is the agreement we sign when we take to the court or the bleachers.

With the Astros title, and Manfred’s seeming complicity – even though it wasn’t – fans and players alike feel, well, cheated. Which is why they don’t just want a penalty. They want justice. Whether that comes formally through losing their title or vigilante with pitches to the back side, that’s what they want. I suppose throughout the course of the season, we’ll see if that’s what they, and what the Astros get.

As for me, I simply want to be able to wear my hat.

Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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