New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner on Wednesday spoke out about the cheating scandal that rocked baseball last month, telling reporters he was “as upset as anyone” when the news first broke, but understood he needed to move on.
Speaking at the owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., Steinbrenner said when he first learned of MLB’s finding that the Houston Astros used a sign-stealing system in 2017, he was angered at the thought of what could have been.
The Astros beat the Yankees in seven games in the American League Championship Series that season.
“When the report came out, I was as upset as anyone,” Steinbrenner said. “Clearly, there were direct implications to my organization, our team, our 2017 team. But at some point I think we all, for the sake of the game and the good of the game, need to move on.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released a report Jan. 13 that concluded the Astros violated baseball’s rules against using electronic devices to steal signs in 2017, including during the postseason.
Within hours of the report, Astros owner Jim Crane fired manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow after the pair received a one-year ban from the commissioner’s office. The Astros were also fined $5 million and stripped of their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021.
The Los Angeles City Council filed a petition asking MLB to anoint the Dodgers winners of the 2017 and 2018 World Series. The Red Sox beat the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series and were managed by Alex Cora, who the season prior was the Astros bench coach. Cora has since parted ways with the Red Sox as he has been linked with the sign-stealing program.
“I think enough people have brought that to my attention, and I’m a reasonably smart guy. I’ve certainly thought that,” Steinbrenner told reporters when asked if he thinks what could have happened in that 2017 ALCS if the Astros had been on the up-and-up.