Manfred Says Astros’ Shame Is Penalty Enough. Opponents Might Disagree.

Not if the league can help it. The Astros’ new manager, Dusty Baker, publicly asked M.L.B. over the weekend to step in against “premeditated retaliation,” and Manfred relayed the message to managers before a dinner here on Sunday.

“I hope that I made it extremely clear to them that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it’s Houston or anybody else,” he said. “It’s dangerous and it is not helpful to the current situation.”

The next situation — an investigation into sign-stealing allegations involving the 2018 Boston Red Sox, who also won the World Series — should be completed by the end of the month. In the meantime, Manfred said, he would engage the players’ union about further anti-cheating measures. Over the last two years, he said, some initiatives have helped — a league official monitoring the video room, for example, and the recording of dugout phone conversations. More are coming.

“I do expect that we will, for 2020, have really serious restrictions on player and playing personnel access to video in-game,” he said. “I think it’s really important for us to send a message to our fans that not only did we investigate and punish, but we altered our policies in a way that will help make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

That is a noble and necessary goal, but the league lost credibility by failing to uncover the scheme earlier, despite accusations by several teams. And the Astros’ credibility is so shredded that, no matter how much they or M.L.B. dismiss it, many fans and players will always believe the Astros used buzzers to transmit the Yankees’ signs to hitters last October.

“In my own mind, it was hard for me to figure out, when they were immune: Why they would be truthful and admit they did the wrong thing in ’17, admit they did the wrong thing in ’18 and then lie about what was going on in ’19?” Manfred said. “Can I tell you I’m 100 percent sure about that? You’re never 100 percent sure in any of these things.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/sports/baseball/rob-manfred-astros.html?emc=rss&partner=rss