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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is under fire after an interview with ESPN where he described the World Series trophy as, “a piece of metal.”
On Tuesday, Manfred apologized for his comments.
These comments come in the wake of the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. In the incident, the MLB investigated and found that Houston used in-house cameras to relay opponents’ signs to the dugout. The Astros would then hit a trashcan a corresponding amount of times to indicate different types of pitches.
After the investigation, the MLB fined the Astros $5 million and stripped the team of their first and second round picks in 2020 and 2021. The MLB also suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch for one year before the Astros promptly fired them.
In his press conference, Manfred tried to clarify certain aspects of the investigation. According to him, the MLB offered players immunity for their testimonies.
Additionally, Manfred offered a solution. The commissioner proposed strict restrictions on in-game video access to team personnel.
Backlash
Different players have been very outspoken against the MLB and their penalties. Commissioner Manfred was vocally outspoken about player comments. According to him, he’s never seen this type of rhetoric before.
Giancarlo Stanton talked to the media on Wednesday about the Astros scandal. He claims that if he had known what pitches were coming at him, he would have hit 80 homeruns.
Additionally, Stanton took a hardline stance on the scandal. According to him, the MLB should vacate the Astros’ 2017 World Series victory.
Aaron Judge spoke about deleting a tweet directed at Jose Altuve and the Astros. Judge and the Yankees lost in 2017 to the Astros in the ALCS.
Aaron Judge admits he deleted a tweet congratulating Jose Altuve on his 2017 AL MVP:
"They cheated, that didn't sit well with me. That post didn't mean the same anymore" pic.twitter.com/al44qbpNme
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 18, 2020
Even LeBron James had choice words for the MLB commissioner. In consecutive tweets, James sounded off on his opinion on the whole scandal.
Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do! Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your…..
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 18, 2020
players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this. Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! #JustMyThoughtsComingFromASportsJunkieRegardlessMyOwnSportIPlay
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 18, 2020
