On the hot seat for the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, 61-year-old Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred called the World Series trophy a “piece of metal,” Feb. 16, trying to beat back complaints about his handling of the scandal. Manfred thought the scandal was over when he ruled Jan. 14, that the Astros would pay a $5 million fine, suspend Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow for one year and forfeit their first and second round draft picks for two years. With that move, Manfred thought he could sweep the scandal under the rug, dismissing the profound impact on ownership, front-office, players, and others giving their blood, sweat and tears to the game. Calling the World Series trophy “a piece of metal,” major league owners, who control Manfred’s contract, should ask for his resignation. It’s not enough that Manfred woke up Feb. 18 to offer his mea culpa.
There’s no going back after referring to the game’s most coveted prize as a “piece of metal.” In a game obsessed with rules, there’s no greater insult to the game than to trash the game’s most coveted symbol—the chip chased by every team, front office, manager, coach, player, trainer or minor leaguer dreaming one day to make it to the big leagues. “I had a long day Sunday,” Manfred said. “I made one mistake, at least, during that long day. That was in an effort to make a rhetorical point, I referred to the World Series trophy in a disrespectful way. And I want to apologize for that.” While that’s fine, Manfred must do the right thing for the game—and resign. For America’s pastime, dating back to 1856, Manfred disgraced the game, regardless of all his damage control. “There’s no excuse for it. I made a mistake. I was trying to make a point, but I should have made it in a more effective way,” Manfred said.
If Manfred’s sincere about his apology, he needs to step down. No one in the game, certainly not owners, general managers, players and support personnel can tolerate his egregious statement. If there’s really “no excuse for it,” then stop making excuses and get out. Calling the World Series trophy “a piece of metal” was the most cynical possible remark, debasing the game that pays him $11 million a year. Neither Manfred nor MLB owners have come to grips with the gravity of the situation. Astros’ sign-stealing scandal cost players around the league their coveted statistics, giving Astros’ pitchers and hitters an unfair advantage. Untold numbers of players had the averages diminished, reputation in regular-and-post-season tarnished and contracts impacted by the Astros’ systematic cheating scheme. For the Commissioner to act so cavalierly shows he’s not worthy of the job.
Manfred refused to do the right thing, even if it’s unprecedented: Strip the Astros the 2017 World Series crown. Whatever baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement [CBA], Manfred miscalculated, minimized the damage to the game. While most ballplayers have an opinion, the game’s best and most respected player, 28-year-old Angel’s center-fielder Mike Trout, expressed his disgust over the Astros’ cheating their fellow professional ballplayers. “It’s sad for baseball, “ Trout said. “It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys’ careers have been affected, a lot of people lost jobs . . “ Trout said. Manfred insists he did as much as he could given the CBA that limits his punishment of players that cheated. Blanket immunity was given to players to get the truth out.
Players’ reactions to Manfred’s punishment tell the real story of how many people over a three-year period were harmed by the Astros’ cheating scandal. “I thought the apologies were whatever,” said Dodgers’ 24-year-old 2019 MVP outfielder Cody Bellinger, in response to Manfred’s actions. “I thought the [Astros’ owner] Jim Crane’s was weak. I though [Rob] Manfred’s punishment was weak, giving [the players’] immunity. Those guys were cheating for three years. I think what people don’t realize is [Jose] Altuve stole the MVP from [Aaron] Judge in ’17. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us. But it’s over,” Bellinger said it all. Manfred wants to leave it up to the “fans” to do his job, whether that’s shunning the Astros or holding their own opinions. But in the Olympic Games, when an athlete cheats, they give back the gold medal. Manfred dismissed the significance of a World Series Ring.
Because Baseball’s a team sport, it only makes sense that the Astros’ 2017 World Series Championship should be stripped, together with any compensation the team or individual players received. Manfred failed to protect the integrity of the game by allowing the Astros to keep a title they didn’t earn. When you think of the damage done to teams or individual players competing against the Astros’ over three years, it’s unthinkable that Manfred would not have stepped up. Fans can’t do what the game’s commanding legal authority must do. For players that lost averages, jobs, reputations and brands, they’re entitled to legal compensation from the Astros’ franchise. Dodgers’ 35-year-old red-bearded third baseman Justin Turner said Manfred “was out of touch,” calling the World Series trophy “a piece of metal.” Turner points out that it’s the symbol that drives every ballplayer to compete on a level playing field.
