If You Can’t Pay the Fines, Don’t [Digitally] Steal the Signs: MLB Punishment and Policy

By: Margaret Nolan*

 On Monday, January 13, Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred announced the punishment for the Houston Astros’ illegal sign stealing scandal.[1]  In a nine-page statement, Manfred reported the factual findings of the investigation and the bases of his discipline.[2]  The effects of the Commissioner’s decision will ripple throughout the entire league, but may fail to hold those most at fault liable for their roles in the cheating scheme.[3]

“Significant Discipline” . . . 

Although stealing signs is not against MLB rules, the league has forbidden teams from utilizing video replay and other electronic means to assist players in the practice.[4]  In 2017, when the commissioner’s office found that the Red Sox were stealing signs using technology, the Commissioner fined the team and warned the league that “future violations of this type [would] be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”[5]  He made good on that warning this month, not only fining the Astros $5 million, but also suspending the team’s manager and general manager and docking them four draft picks.[6]

The team’s owner Jim Crane promptly terminated manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Lunhow.[7]  In the days following, Alex Cora, manager of the Boston Red Sox, and Carlos Beltrán, manager of the New York Mets who had yet to begin in that role, also parted ways with their respective teams as a result of their involvement in the scandal.[8]  Both Cora, who was the team’s bench coach during the scheme,  and Beltrán, a player for the Astros during the relevant period, were specifically named in the Commissioner’s report.[9]
 

. . . Or a Small Price to Pay?

            While the investigation revealed the scheme was “player-driven,” no punishment was passed onto the players.[10]  This move was both practical—the Commissioner’s report mentions how difficult it would be to determine degrees of blame and corresponding discipline—as well as strategic.[11]   The absence of any current members of the MLB Players Association from the report’s narrative is no coincidence.[12]  The Association, which represents players’ labor interests, would likely file grievances in response to any discipline against members.[13]  Not only could it take months to resolve these disputes, it may also affect the outcome of upcoming union negotiations.[14]  The Commissioner, by offering players immunity in return for their testimony, avoided adding fuel to an already tense dialogue between players and management leading up to the expiration of MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement in December of next year.[15]

            Also escaping blame is Astros owner Jim Crane.[16]  Although Crane will pay the maximum fine allowed by the MLB Constitution, $5 million is pocket change for the owner.[17]  The club’s value has practically quadrupled since Crane’s acquisition, putting his own net worth around $1.3 billion by the end of 2019.[18]  Aside from fining the team, the Commissioner absolved Crane of responsibility despite writing that the Astros scandal was the result of “an environment that allowed [cheating] to have occurred.”[19]  Presumably the owner of the team should be deemed culpable for such an environment, as were the GM and the manager against whom the Commissioner levied one of the most severe suspensions in MLB history.[20]  This discrepancy, like the reluctance to hold players accountable, may also have a political explanation: Jim Crane and the other 29 MLB team owners hold the keys to the Commissioner’s professional fate.[21]

Mixed Reactions

            Media response to the Commissioner’s decision ranges from pleased to perplexed.[22]  One analyst emphasized the gravity of the punishment, describing the loss of first- and second-round draft picks for two years as “stunning.”[23]  Another called the punishment an overcorrection for the lack of consequences in the steroid era.[24]  Whether they agree with it or not, most commentators agree the decision sends a strong signal to the league: using technology to cheat will not be tolerated.[25]

*Staff Writer, Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal, J.D. Candidate, May 2021, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

[1] See Tom Lutz, Astros hit with huge penalties for cheating during World Series winning season, Guardian (Jan. 13, 2020), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/13/houston-astros-baseball-cheating-punishment (reporting commissioner’s discipline for Astros).

[2] See Robert D. Manfred, Jr., Statement of the Commissioner, In re Houston Astros (Jan. 13, 2020), https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/cglrhmlrwwbkacty27l7.pdf.

(explaining MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in his report, “I find that the conduct of the Astros, and its senior baseball operations executives, merits significant discipline.”).

[3] See Patrick Rishe, MLB’s Houston Astros Sanctions Will Have Leaguewide Effect On The Ethics Of Baseball Operations, Forbes (Jan. 14, 2020), https://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2020/01/14/mlb-commissioners-strong-sanctions-against-houston-astros-will-have-leaguewide-effect-on-the-ethics-of-baseball-operations/#63139f1a42d5 (explaining how Astros’ penalties will affect rest of league going forward); see also Barry Svrluga, Baseball is being practical in not punishing cheating players, but that doesn’t make it right, Washington Post (Jan. 15, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/mlb-wont-punish-cheating-astros-players-and-thats-not-right/2020/01/15/7a41139c-37c1-11ea-bb7b-265f4554af6d_story.html (explaining league’s strategy in not holding players personally liable for cheating).

[4] See Lutz, supra note 1 (noting league’s position on using electronic devices to steal signs).

[5] Eric Stephen, MLB’s Astros punishment was extraordinary, and still not harsh enough, SBNATION (Jan. 14, 2020), https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2020/1/14/21064635/astros-sign-stealing-punishment-mlb-jim-crane-rob-manfred-jeff-luhnow-aj-hinch (explaining commissioner’s drastic discipline and opining even more severe consequences were warranted in response to Astros scandal).

[6] See Tom Verducci, Why MLB Issued Historic Punishment to Astros for Sign Stealing, Sports Illustrated (Jan. 13, 2020), https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/01/13/houston-astros-cheating-punishment (detailing Astros’ punishment).

[7] See ESPN.com, Everything you need to know about MLB’s sign-stealing scandal, ESPN (Jan. 15, 2020), https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28476282/everything-need-know-mlb-sign-stealing-scandal (describing Astros’ scandal in detail).

[8] See id. (explaining effect of Commissioner’s report on former Houston player and coach).

[9] See Manfred, supra note 2 (describing events leading up to Astros’ discipline).

[10] See id. (finding cheating scheme driven by players).

[11] See Will Leitch, The MLB commissioner’s statement on the Astros has one big omission. There’s a reason., Washington Post (Jan. 15, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/15/mlb-commissioners-statement-astros-has-one-big-omission-theres-reason/ (analyzing choice not to discipline individual players).

[12] See id. (suggesting effect of player punishment in upcoming labor negotiations).

[13] See Jeff Passan, Why anger is boiling behind the scenes about Houston Astros’ sign-stealing punishments, ESPN (Jan. 14, 2020), https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28477741/why-anger-boiling-scenes-houston-astros-sign-stealing-punishments (predicting reaction of players’ union if individual players were suspended).

[14] See Svrluga, supra note 3 (explaining probable influence of impending negotiations on commissioner’s decision not to punish players).

[15] See Leitch, supra note 10 (emphasizing significance of collective bargaining negotiations).

[16] See Passan, supra note 13 (suggesting Astros’ owner should have seen consequences for cheating scandal).

[17] See Mike Axisa, Astros cheating scandal: Three ways MLB’s punishment could hurt Houston on the field, CBS Sports (Jan. 15, 2020), https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/astros-cheating-scandal-three-ways-mlbs-punishment-could-hurt-houston-on-the-field/ (analyzing practical effect of owner’s fine and team’s lost draft picks).

[18] See Kurt Badenhausen, Baseball Propels Net Worth of Astros Owner Jim Crane to $1.3 Billion, Forbes (Dec. 31, 2019), https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/01/02/baseball-propels-net-worth-of-astros-owner-jim-crane-to-13-billion/#78a8e8c93c9f (showing Crane’s earnings as Astros owner).

[19] See Passan, supra note 13 (arguing owner shares responsibility for players’ conduct).

[20]  See Stephen, supra note 5 (reporting, after Lee Durocher and Pete Rose, Hinch is only third manager in past century to be suspended for full season or more).

[21]  See id. (describing Commissioner’s task as “a job of extreme compromise . . . of figuring out how to appease the 30 billionaires who are his bosses”).

[22] See generally Thomas Boswell, Cheating ruins everything about sports. The Astros got what they deserved., Washington Post (Jan. 13, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/cheating-ruins-everything-about-sports-the-astros-got-what-they-deserved/2020/01/13/ebea7380-3654-11ea-bf30-ad313e4ec754_story.html (lauding league’s initiative in enforcing anti-cheating policies); but see Corbin Smith, Sign stealing in baseball is nothing new. The punishment now being meted out is absurd., NBC News (Jan. 15, 2020), https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/red-sox-manager-alex-cora-s-firing-houston-astros-punishment-ncna1116011 (taking position that sign stealing is accepted practice in baseball and distinction for use of electronic means is arbitrary).

[23] See ESPN.com, supra note 7 (referring to punishment as “almost unprecedented”).

[24] See Smith, supra note 22 (pointing out inconsistency in MLB discipline over time).

[25] See ESPN.com, supra note 7 (“This is exactly how you tell an entire sport to knock it off.”).