In 2017, the Houston Astros won their first ever World Series title. A few years later, it was revealed that they didn’t actually win, but rather cheated their way to that title by stealing signs with the use of technology. While stealing signs is part of the game, doing so with technology is illegal and considered cheating.
It was also discovered that the Astros had been cheating in 2018 and 2019 as well, with other teams such as the then-Indians, Yankees, and Nationals claiming they noticed some odd things while matching up against Houston in the postseason. The Astros’ cover was blown when pitcher Mike Fiers revealed the truth about what happened in 2017.
But what if the Astros were somehow caught in the act in 2017? What if after Danny Farquhar and the White Sox discovered what was happening, MLB actually did something about it? Perhaps in the next couple of days? This is far-fetched at best, but it’s worth seeing what would have happened.
For starters, we know how commissioner Rob Manfred handled the situation. Probably as poorly as he possibly could have. We can assume that he still wouldn’t have done much about it, other than take a few draft picks from them and some money after the season was over. But in the meantime, the whole baseball world would be aware of it much sooner, as the bombshell would have already been dropped.
The immediate effects on the rest of the regular season are pretty minimal. The Astros unfortunately would have still won the AL West and matched up with the Red Sox in the ALDS. Houston probably would have still beaten the Sox in that series, as I do believe they had the better team. But perhaps it would have been more evenly matched. Maybe instead of four games, the series would have gone to five.
Next we have the ALCS between the Astros and the Yankees. To me, the most damning pieces of evidence in that series were the first two games of that series in Houston. Both games were won by the Astros by a final score of 2-1. In fact, in that series, the home team won every single game. The Yankees went home down 2-0 and won three in a row, before Houston rallied back to win the final two games of that series.
If Houston wasn’t cheating in that series, it’s safe to assume the Yankees would have won both of the first two games at Minute Maid Park, which means New York would have then swept the series and gone on to play the Dodgers.
The World Series would have had some extremely high TV ratings. Imagine if it were Yankees vs. Dodgers. Two of the biggest markets in professional sports would be going at it on the world’s biggest stage. It would have been a fascinating series, especially with the Yankees seemingly on a magic carpet ride.
It’s hard to speculate who would actually win the series. I would imagine it would be the Dodgers, but it would probably go six or seven games. 2018 would have been largely the same, with the Red Sox and Dodgers meeting in the World Series. We’re going to assume in this scenario, that the Red Sox hadn’t been caught yet for their own sign stealing scandal, and they would still beat the Dodgers in the World Series.
2019 would also be difficult to speculate. Perhaps in the ALDS, the Rays would have been able to knock off the Astros and reach the ALCS, where they would match up with the Yankees. And that would be a really cool series. If it were to happen, it could have gone either way. Two AL East rivals going at it in the LCS would be something to see. Regardless of who won that Series though, it’s safe to assume that nobody was stopping the Nationals. They just had that magic, the kind the 2011 Cardinals or the 2004 Red Sox had. They were basically a runaway train. Perhaps if they were playing Tampa Bay or New York, the series wouldn’t have reached a seventh game. Maybe Washington would have clinched the title at home.
From then on, everything else would be the same. COVID would still wreak havoc on baseball and the rest of the sports world, and we’d still have a 60-game season in 2020. Houston would still get to the World Series in 2021 and lose to the Braves, but it’s interesting to see what might’ve happened had they been caught earlier on in the process and how that would’ve changed things.
Regardless of what Jim Crane says, the cheating did in fact, impact the game. The Astros did more than “break the rules.” They cheated the game and became a black eye to the sport. Their title was not earned and they don’t deserve it.
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