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On Nov. 1, 2017, the Houston Astros captured their franchise’s first world championship, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games to win the World Series.

Two years later, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich published an investigation, chronicling the Houston Astros’ use of cameras during the 2017 season to illegally steal signs from opponents.

On Jan. 13, 2020, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for one year due to their roles in the sign-stealing scandal. The Astros fired Luhnow and Hinch that same day.
On Feb. 14, 2023, Drellich’s book “Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess” will be released. It captures the rise and fall of the Astros, who set out to be the most cost-efficient winning franchise in baseball. Instead, the pursuit of winning led to a scandal that tarnished the franchise and its employees.

How did the scandal come about? What happened after The Athletic’s story broke? To catch up, here’s a timeline of the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme from 2017 to present:

What did the Astros do during the 2017 season?

Broadly, the Astros cheated. Specifically, Houston incorporated an electronic sign-stealing system to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
The Astros set up a camera in the outfield at Minute Maid Park, focusing on home plate. A TV monitor was set up near the Astros home dugout, where players and staff would decode the signs from opposing catchers. Once the code was cracked, they’d inform hitters at the plate what pitch was coming via a loud noise. This is how banging on a trash can became synonymous with the Astros.
When MLB expanded instant replay in 2014, every team had a video replay room with live feeds. This allowed communication between the dugout and the video room. The Athletic reported that illegal sign stealing via advanced technology was growing around baseball no later than 2015. On Sept. 15, 2017, Manfred issued fines to the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees for their schemes to communicate signs illegally. A Red Sox training staff member used a wearable device to help relay information on pitch signs.
Despite Manfred sending a memo to all 30 teams about the consequences for electronically stealing signs in September 2017, it didn’t stop the Astros from continuing their operation.
How the Astros fared during the scandal

The Astros won 101 games in 2017, finishing first in the American League West. It was their second-highest winning percentage in franchise history (.623).
Offensively, the Astros were one of the best teams in baseball. They led MLB in runs scored (896), batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.346) and slugging percentage (.478). Astros second baseman Jose Altuve won AL MVP.
The Astros defeated the Red Sox in four games in the ALDS. Against the Yankees in the ALCS, the Astros won in seven games before going on to defeat the Dodgers in the World Series. L.A. won 104 games in the 2017 regular season.


If you look at the home and road splits of the Astros, the team performed better at Minute Maid Park than when they were visitors. The Astros did not use the garbage-can scheme on the road.
Below are some of the home and road splits of Astros players during the 2017 postseason:





What happened to the Astros after the news broke in 2019


MLB launched an investigation into the facts reported in The Athletic’s story. As Drellich writes in his upcoming book, “In a span of two months, the league’s department of investigations would interview 68 people, including 23 Astros players, and collect more than 76,000 emails.”
MLB’s investigation found the Astros did use cameras and other technology to steal signs from opposing teams. It handed down unprecedented penalties, including a one-season suspension for Hinch and Luhnow, the Astros forfeiting their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, and a fine of $5 million.
The Astros weren’t the only team impacted. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, Houston’s bench coach in 2017, was suspended for a season as well, and let go by the Red Sox. Carlos Beltrán, who was poised to be the manager for the New York Mets, was let go when the investigation confirmed his involvement.
MLB did not discipline any Astros players.


Where The Athletic filled in the gaps


In the original story, The Athletic former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers discussed the sign-stealing scandal.


Fiers played for the Astros from 2015 to 2017. He then went to the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics, where he warned those teams about Houston’s sign-stealing schemes.


“That’s not playing the game the right way,” Fiers said. “They were advanced and willing to go above and beyond to win.”


Former White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar told The Athletic that he could hear banging from the Astros dugout every time a changeup signal occurred.


“There was a banging from the dugout, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack every time a changeup signal got put down,” Farquhar said. “After the third one, I stepped off. I was throwing some really good changeups and they were getting fouled off. After the third bang, I stepped off.”


In the days that followed the original story, The Athletic chronicled reactions from players around the league. Kaitlyn McGrath wrote about Blue Jays players feeling duped by the Astros. Twins reporter Dan Hayes reported during spring training of 2020 that the team was not going to let Marwin Gonzalez, who participated in the Astros’ sign stealing, impact their team chemistry.


Pitcher Michael Bolsinger filed a lawsuit, which ultimately got dismissed, against the Astros for allegedly ruining his career because of the sign-stealing scandal. Rosenthal and Drellich highlighted Beltran’s role in orchestrating the sign-stealing scheme and how his voice prevailed over others in the Astros clubhouse.


How the scandal still resonates today

The sanctions MLB placed on the Astros remain some of the most punitive in baseball history.

MLB’s investigation and report on the Astros dominated spring training in 2020. While Astros players weren’t punished for their role in the sign-stealing scheme, they apologized in various degrees for their actions. Players around baseball weren’t afraid to take shots at the Astros and their players for how the sign stealing influenced the outcome of games.




Two years after the original story was published, the sign-stealing scandal was still making waves throughout baseball. Astors manager Dusty Baker was asked about White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera’s comments after Houston’s bats cooled while on the road against Chicago during the 2021 postseason. “They’ve obviously had a reputation of doing some sketchy stuff over there, and, you know, it’s just we can say that it’s a little bit of a difference,” Tepera said of the Astros.


Baker called Tepera’s comments “heavy accusations,” and went on to say, “People don’t forget.”

After serving his suspension, Hinch went to manage the Detroit Tigers. Cora returned to manage the Red Sox.

Five years later, the Astros have mostly different players, coaches, personnel and management from 2017. Houston has two more World Series appearances since winning it all that season.

Nonetheless, sign-stealing, trash cans and cheating are still associated with the Astros.