Charlie Morton from the Houston Astros regrets the decisions made for sign stealing back in the 2017 World Series Championship. The Two-Time All-Star Pitcher expressed that he hadn’t done anything to stop the illegal relaying information, with him having direct involvement in the illicit actions. Morton now pitches for the Tampa Bay Rays, where coaching staff questioned his decisions three years ago. Charlie noted to reporters that when his contract had ended, he immediately left the organization for their decisions to perform illegal hand stealing movements.
Though Charlie Morton believes he wasn’t directly involved with the illegal actions, he had heard about them through the dugout and fellow teammates. Pitchers everywhere have lost considerable respect for Charlie Morton, with him regularly being benched by the Tampa Bay Rays. This shouldn’t be surprising as everyone associated with the 2017 Houston Astros have received their respective punishments. Charlie believes he should’ve done something to stop the illegal behaviour but worried that his contract would immediately be terminated. He hypothesized that if coaching staff with the Houston Astros were willing to cheat, they’d be ready to break contract law.
The Overall Impact
Morton firmly agreed that this cheating scandal has drastically impacted the perception of baseball and seen countless supporters switch to other sporting leagues. The Houston Astros themselves have become shunned in Major League Baseball, with sporting analysts believing that declining revenues will force this organization to shutdown before 2025. Charlie mentioned that good people make mistakes and can recover after being educated.
However, this excuse isn’t enough to justify his respective actions of the decisions made by the Houston Astros. Morton tried to garner sympathy for his previous teammates, expressing that they’ve got a different perspective on professional baseball and couldn’t easily oppose this decision. It should be noted that an entire team fighting cheating, forces the hand of coaches, regardless of the potential backlash.
Coaching staff and executives connected with the Houston Astros have received suspensions for their actions, with the General Manager being terminated for twelve months. This extended to AJ Hinch and subsidiary assistant coaches who moved to other organizations before this scandal was revealed. Going forward, the MLB Commission is refusing for electronics to be implemented with teams’ strategies.