Dodgers: The Astros Stole More Than Just Signs
I’ve become known in my area of the world as a Dodgers fan, and I’m more than proud of that. I’ll talk baseball and the Dodgers with anyone who will listen, or who has no immediate means of escape, like liquor store cashiers or co-workers stuck in cubicles. So it stands to reason that after today’s Astros punishment story broke, I received more texts and messages that I normally would on an otherwise uneventful, snowy Monday afternoon.
A couple of friends asked me how I was feeling about the news, and though at first I was surprised two men lost their jobs over it, and then angry that no players will be officially punished, mostly, I just feel sad.
We didn’t just get cheated out of a World Series.
We got cheated out of hugs & high 5s from fellow fans!
We got cheated out of seeing our parents and grandparents act like kids!
We got cheated out of an opportunity to bring our city together!
That’s the pain we feel today.
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) January 14, 2020
Sad at what could have been, sad that my precious game of baseball has become so tainted, sad that so many reputations – specifically Clayton Kershaw – were unfairly tarnished by those fateful Games 3, 4 and 5 played at the Astrodome back in October 2017.
Twitter went crazy with the “what ifs” and “what could have beens”, reminding me of feelings I’d taken a while to reconcile, and finally had with the dawn of the two seasons that have followed that October 2017 heartbreak. Now I’m reliving those dreadful pitching collapses, and I feel sad all over again.
I traveled to the other side of the continent and spent part of my life’s savings at the time to attend a World Series hosted by my beloved baseball team, and I would do it all again, but now that the truth is out, it is impossible not to fall into a daydream and imagine if the series had been played on an even playing ground. It’s impossible not to; we all know that championship, in that magical year of #ThisTeam, belonged to the Dodgers.
Don’t want the World Series title given to the @Dodgers – doubt the players want it as well. I want @mlb to vacate the 2017 #WSC title from the Astros and repo their rings. #astroscheated #playersknew https://t.co/E7vB2Uyyh7
— Alysha Del Valle (@alyshadelvalle) January 13, 2020
The Astros didn’t just steal signs, they stole a legacy away from the Dodgers franchise, along with a piece of our hearts. And they owe us.
NEXT: 2017 Dodgers Woes Return Amidst Astros Cheating Allegations
Gail Gail Gail
In your last write up you were happy to be a Dodgers fan win or loose. Huh
Maybe the Dodgers can get AJ Finch and Jeff Lahnow for 2021 after the Dodgers flame out of the 2020 wildcard game
If they do at least it won’t be because the other team cheated.
Actually, Finch is a much, much better manager than Roberts will ever be.
If he is so damn good, than why cheat?
Can’t you let it rest for even a day? This article is about how the cheaters affected so many peolle, not about your shrill opinions about Roberts. Btw, if the Astros hadn’t cheated and the Dodgers won the AS it would be hard to be criticizing Roberts or Hasten now. See how deep the cheating affects us?! I for one think the punishments were not severe enough!
I am a die hard . My Dodger Fandom Dates back to my early years when my Dad (rip) would take me and brother and sisters to the game growing up. Watch the likes of Garvey Cey, Lopes, Valenzuela & Monday watching the World Series in 81 and 88. On that one TV we had in the living room listening to Vin call them. Now I watch the game because it’s a part of who I am as an Angelino the legacy my late Dad gave us. I’m an adult now and have the means to buys good seats and plan my Vacations around traveling with my Boys in Blue. Needless to Say we travelled for that 2017 Houstan Game and they have some electric Fans Nice people that were recovering from those Hurricanes. #Houstanstrong. But do they deserve this shame NOOO!!! Just as much as we deserved the Win!! I am pissed to say the least. They stole this from us as a fans . It’s a sacrifice to make those trips and pay those tickets airfare hotel and ect. We were happy to do it!!!! After all it was the Dodgers. Win or Lose we Love them. But it wasn’t a fair game and that’s where our anger is. They CHEATED THEY STOLE, and a plethora of fans were stripped of a euphoria we were waiting for for decades. Vin deserved it! KERSHAW WAS ENTITLED TO IT!!! He wanted it as much for us the Fans, if not MORE, than for himself!!! So how do we get that back !!!! Cora GM and Coach are getting off to easy. The players were in on it and they took it…. they didn’t Win it… they stole it….. Inwant redemption. I want the WS taken from them! I want our team to have those rings. … I want my WS WIN!!!!
Great editorial Gail! I think it pretty much sums up what most of us Dodger Fans are feeling right now. It galls me that no players are being punished by MLB, but believe me, they will be. What are those players going to tell their families ( especially their children)? The media? Their peers? There will forever be a cloud over their achievements. They will definitely be punished.
Furthermore Gail, I bet the Astros Players have already had to shut down their social media accounts. Crackpots are already probably making threats against them and their families. Think of the pain that will cause them for their foolishness. If they had endorsement deals they are probably being canceled right now. It will go on and on for them.
I know I’m threatening them online
That’s too funny.
– Now we know why Houston was able to hit Dodgers pitching so well.
Those guys have no honor for allowing this.
– posted:
“I want @mlb to vacate the 2017 #WSC title from the Astros and repo their rings.”
I agree, but how about all the extra cash the fake winners got?
Good article. This situation hits really close to home. My wife lived in Houston for 29 years prior to us getting married. And she and her younger daughter (and husband) are diehard Astro fans. And I am a pretty close to a lifetime Dodger fan. I agree with the punishments handed down; but if Beltran and any other players at the time were involved in the process; I feel there should be some punishment for that, too.. Maybe forfeiture of their Series checks? With money going to some baseball charity. I don’t agree with LA being given the title because technically we didn’t win. We may not have lost; but neither did we win. My wife feels like Hinch should be able to return to baseball in a year. And no players should be punished. Which is what the punishment was. I look back to the Black Sox Scandal and lo and behold EIGHT players were banned for life from baseball. I think Manfred realizes that punishment of that sort would decimate the Astro team. They would all of a sudden be a .500 or worse team for 3-5 years. But, not gonna happen. On a brighter side, maybe this will be the impetus to spur us to a Series Championship. It has GOT to be a real sore spot for Justin, Clayton, and the boys.
Dude!!! Pissed off is just the start!! To hear how these bastard cheated is disgusting. Houston and Boston both? These teams have cheated The Dodgers out of titles! I want to apologize to Darvish and Kershaw for all the terrible things that I said at the time. To know what pitch is coming? Professional hitters? Come on! I say some season ticket holder SUE these bastard! Expose the whole rotten business down to the core.
I wonder what Joe Kelly is thinking today? Or, more importantly, what his Dodgers teammates are thinking about him? When signed by Dodgers did he tell them about Redsox cheating in 2018?
I feel for Kershaw… at this point he good go down as one of the greatest without winning a ring, not to mention his post season stats should have a ? behind them.
Dodgers should get the draft picks that they lose.
Whaaat?
Happy go lucky Gail
Happy with the Dodgers rain or shine? Happy to win or loose gail has a gripe.
The same gail as she gets older dosen’t really care what people think??… Has a a bone to pick.
She calls out fans for caring what direction the FO is going with this team.
So you are allowed to complain but the rest of our voices should be hushed up because win or loose we should just be happy the Dodgers are playing.
Gail
For shame!
Just be happy that the Dodgers play baseball that was your take home message.
Well gail I guess just be happy this team was able to get to the world series so a team could cheat feel good about it after all it is just one more game that you get to watch win or loose you are happy with your Dodgers Team!
Who cares that we are not going after the best team possible. Because you feel that the front office is doing a “great job” and should be tight fisted with the Billions of dollars of hard earned (fans) money that they are collecting. Bless Andrew Friedman Stan Kasten for lying to there base about wanting to win a World Series.
Done with hearing there excuses it’s time for them to prove it!
My grandfather took my mother to Ebbets Field to watch games when she was a child. I jumped in her womb 25 days before I was born when we won in 1955. I was born loving The Dodgers. Growing up in Indiana, I got a morning paper route at a very young age, just so I could read the box score from 2 days prior. Late games meant I had to wait an extra day to find out if we’d won. I’ve lived and died with every box score since those days.
I relished the long season of baseball, with the anticipation growing as the go by. Hoping against all hope that we make it to the Series and, if not, that at least the Giants don’t either. I cherished the success of the 60’s and wept in ’66. I always believed we’d win at the start of every season and bled blue every day for the next 15 years. I still feel the sting of Ozzie Smith’s first career left handed home run. Also, “I did believe what I just saw!” and if my Grandfather had been alive, he would have taken back what he said about Kirk Gibson, calling him a “crybaby” in a letter to the sports editor of the Detroit Free Press when Gibson was playing football at Michigan State.
It’s been half of my life since the last time we won and, again this year, I believe we’re going to win!
Fortunately for me, I won’t need a paper route.
You should all be thanking the Astros for giving you an excuse to ignore a lot of facts about the Dodgers. Like the fact that they collectively hit a buck-thirty, or that Bellinger couldn’t lay off a curveball out of the zone to save his life, or that frankly Kershaw and Jansen are just choke artists. Now you can tell yourselves if wasn’t the Dodgers’ fault they choked multiple times over a seven game series. It was those mean old Astros not playin’ the game duh right way! I’m happy for you all, really, and I won’t try to say anything to take that peace of mind away. You’ve earned it!
Foolish post. The Dodgers scored 12 runs in game 5 at Houston including a 3-run homer by Bellinger. Kershaw and Morrow got lit up and it’s now a fact that the Houston players knew what pitch was coming. You don’t think that edge contributed to their 13-run output? The Dodgers could easily have won the series in 6 games and all the narratives about chokers – like your tired one – wouldn’t exist. In fact, we’d be talking about a possible Dodger dynasty.
This is exactly what I’m talking about! Look how happy you are imagining castles in the sky! No one would have choked, the parade would have been so fun, and they would have taken that confidence boost and not choked the next two years either. You guys really are living the dream!
No. We’ll be living the dream in the years to come as the Dodgers will be competing for championships for the next several years. I wasn’t happy in the least when composing my last post – it’s pretty sad actually; I was simply correcting you on your silly uninformed sarcastic post.
You don’t listen and you don’t think. Actually I think you do listen, to your own blather.
This almost cost Dave Roberts his job. Many were calling for his head. They said Clayton chocked and couldn’t win the “big one”. We’re talking about people’s careers, bonus monies and legacies, so the penalties should be profound. I’m not sure what they should be but they should be commensurate w/seriousness of the crime. This goes to the very fabric of the game. Is it being won on the field or by secret cameras? Astros fans deserve better and Dodgers fans damn sure deserve better!! We all were cheated.
Re; A.J. Hinch being a better manager than Dave and hiring him for the 2021 season:
Just remember “Cheaters never lose.” We all know that Hinch will never get another job in baseball. He desperately needs a new career.
On MLBN’s High Heat this AM Russo indicated that had Roberts made proper pitching decisions and had Dodgers not blown game 2 of that series , it would not have gotten to a game 7 in the first place. However, Game 5 was the pivotal game in where Astros cheated their way to a win. And yes, Robert’s decision to start Darvish in game 7 has already been chronicled. But their were 3 games played in Houston and in any event the cheating Astros probably did not limit their actions to just a few WS games. The punishments handed down were no where NEAR what they should have been if MLB had any integrity left at all. Again, Astros are lucky that I am not the Comissioner of baseball and I will leave it at that.
I saw High Heat today too but you have to remember Russo’s a big Giants fan who rarely – if ever – gives the Dodgers their due. Later in show, Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe corrected him by stating unequivocally that the Dodgers – as well as the Yankees – were materially harmed by Houston’s actions during ’17 playoffs.
The problem may be, that MLB doesn’t realize a simple fact. Baseball doesn’t belong to the Owners, the Players or the Baseball establishment. Baseball belongs to the fans, to US! And if they don’t start to realize this. It will be their loss. They sure punished the 1918 White Sox, They sure punished PETE ROSE!
PUT PETE IN THE HOV! And punish the players for disgracing Baseball in the World Series. Or pay the price. MLB-YOUR MOVE!
I think they actually robbed us of a real 2017 WS classic: Dodgers vs Yankees!
The sign stealing was a team effort!! $5 million fine, firing the GM and manager, losing draft picks, NOT ENOUGH. The whole team should face consequences and be stripped of WS title. Returns the rings xxxholes!!!
I definitely think they need to treat this like they treat college ball strip them of there world series win(no 2017 champ based on cheating) and strip them of two years of draft picks teach the ownership and other ownership cheating wont be tolerated.
Enough moral outrage. Cheating has always been part of baseball. Change your signs and play well and it won’t matter. There’s no crying in baseball.
Horrific that it happened to one franchise in both years, obviously good enough to make it to the big show two years in a row to face the best on the other side, only to be cheated.
If the cheating wasn’t happening, we could have faced legitimate opponents, I’m sure the Astro’s and Red Sox cheated their way all the way to series.
Neither team deserves their championship, the trophies, rings, money, or the parades they had. Both teams should be stripped of the titles those years on top of the punishment the organizations have been dealt. The players involved should be banned from baseball for knowingly doing what they did, especially considering the elaborate way they did it.
As a lifetime Dodger fan for more than 47 years, and I’m 52, it hurts to know that one of the best teams we have ever had in those years had to suffer the stigma of the drought years only to be cheated when legitimately we could have either won it, or played another non-cheating opponent also possibly winning it both years.
The Dodgers have nothing to prove, our time will come with this team. Strip the championships and bring it on, we’ll earn ours. Go Dodgers!
this is more shameful than the black sox because management was involved. These weren’t all rookies. They all knew better, if the the players are not at least shown the smallest amount of discipline baseball will suffer at the ticket counter because wrestling seats are cheaper