By: Mike Rifkin
When talking about cheating in Baseball, the most recent memory was the 2017 Houston Astros. The punishments were severe, with General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager AJ Hinch both suspended for one year, and then both were fired by the organization. Former assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman was also suspended for a year. The Astros organization was fined $5 million, and the team had to forfeit their first, and second-round draft picks for the next two seasons. But the arguably most significant punishment is the mark this left some players. Whether it’s being booed on the road or how voters could see their Hall of Fame candidacy. The Astros did win the World Series last year, so the narrative about 2017 can change. Some people felt the punishment didn’t do enough. There were people mainly from Los Angeles (and some in New York) who wanted the 2017 World Series to be handed to them or act like it never happened.
For some irony, Evan Drellich of the Athletic has a new book coming out, and in the book, he interviewed an unnamed Boston Red Sox player who said, “The Dodgers have always been the thing that bothers me the most. They’re the biggest cheaters in the industry. They were doing it against us in the 2018 World Series. They got caught by Major League Baseball, and Major League Baseball did nothing.” The 2018 Red Sox were also investigated for cheating. The replay guy got suspended for a season, and they had to forfeit a second-round pick. The Red Sox suffered from the Astros cheating scandal when Manager Alex Cora was suspended for the 2020 season but was brought back.
What makes the Dodgers special? If Major League Baseball did know that the Dodgers were cheating, why was nothing done? People have already passed judgment on the Astros and the Red Sox. So if the Dodgers cheated in both World Series, as the report in the book says, then commissioner Rob Manfred should tell the fans all of these findings. Now if he never looked into the allegations against the Dodgers, he has to explain that. Everyone is watching Manfred’s next move, no matter what he says. The sign stealing and cheating scandals under Manfred has happened too often.
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