After MLB commissioner Rob Manfred handed out his historic punishments to the Houston Astros for his determination on Monday that they had stolen signs using a camera-based systems, players both active and retired from other teams chimed in with their thoughts about the suspensions and about cheating.
The punishments handed down — a $5 million fine, lost draft picks, and 2020 suspensions for both general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager AJ Hinch, among other penalties — triggered more than reactions, but also harsh consequences. Both Luhnow and Hinch were fired by team owner Jim Crane as a consequence of MLB’s announcement.
Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger was particularly pointed in his reactions, pointing out what was at stake in particular:
https://t.co/U7bn8eqE83 pic.twitter.com/Fy95ffO152
— ❂ Mike 𝕊𝕌ℕ𝕊ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔼 Clevinger ❂ (@Mike_Anthony13) January 13, 2020
Didn’t really expect the punishments to be this harsh. Good for MLB stepping up. Still don’t know what’s more frustrating tho, an ex teammate of the WS title team talking publicly about his team cheating or so many guys being down to use a damn trash can lol. Should take the ring
— David Freese (@david23freese) January 13, 2020
The craziest part of this whole #Astros cheating saga is that they BANGED A TRASHCAN as their delivery system. No wonder Mike F came out and said something. Think about how miserable it would have been to sit and hear that every game in the dugout….
— Trevor Plouffe (@trevorplouffe) January 13, 2020
I’d like my career numbers against Altuve, Springer, and Correa erased from the record books. Seriously though, it’s bad. Can they do that?
— Phil Hughes (@PJHughes45) January 13, 2020
Perhaps predictably, Trevor Bauer wasn’t shy about sharing his opinion, tweeting a reference to the popular Kermit the Frog sipping tea meme attached to Hinch’s past comments about cheating accusations:
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) January 13, 2020
https://t.co/ACL3y5UT48 pic.twitter.com/lvq3OTnEPQ
— ❂ Mike 𝕊𝕌ℕ𝕊ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔼 Clevinger ❂ (@Mike_Anthony13) January 13, 2020