The 2017 Astros were found to have cheated on their way to a World Series, but did the 2019 Astros also break the rules?
Major League Baseball punished Houston for that 2017 team, which was found to have used an electronic system to steal signs. There have been similar allegations made against the 2019 Astros after a suspicious clip surfaced of Jose Altuve after his series-winning home run against the Yankees in the ALCS.
Altuve appeared to tell his teammates not to rip off his jersey, which has meshed well with other accusations on Twitter that the Astros were using a buzzer-system to steal signs in 2019 as well.
Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had a hilarious response when he was asked if he thought Altuve was wearing a buzzer.
As Altuve approached home plate, he could be seen imploring his teammates not to rip his jersey off. He later explained that peculiar behavior on Fox Sports’ broadcast by claiming that his wife had gotten mad the last time his shirt had been ripped off in celebration.
Sanchez was speaking from the Yankees’ minor league facility in Tampa, Florida, where players have started reporting in preparation for the beginning of spring training. Expectations are high for the 2020 Yankees, especially after the fallout from this scandal resulted in the dismissals of AJ Hinch and Alex Cora by the Astros and Red Sox respectively.
Understandably, there is a lot of anger around the league being directed at the Astros. Sanchez is probably angry too, but joking about the drama could be a sign that the Yankees are determined to focus on this season, not the past.