It’s not like the Astros could have been surprised. And if they were, that’s on them. But then again, the Astros haven’t really stopped bitching since they got caught doing whatever it was they did for two or three years. They told you it wasn’t that big of a deal, after they told you that they didn’t do anything, then they told you it was your problem.
Apparently it was a big deal, as the Astros reportedly went crying to MLB about the treatment they got at Yankee Stadium. It was their first trip to New York since the sign-stealing scandal broke, and Yankees fans are just a touch bitter about 2017 and 2019. Have these guys been to New York before? They’re lucky it wasn’t bags of piss raining down on them.
One wonders what kind of punishment the Astros would accept. They didn’t have to deal with any fans last year. Any baseballs directed at their ribs were basically restricted to spring training, aside from Joe Kelly’s performative antics to get more people to like him. None of the players were suspended. Their manager and GM took the fall for them, as well as Carlos Beltran who got canned by the Mets before skippering a game. They didn’t even lose out on any money. Whatever suspicions GMs had about the effects of Trash Can-a-palooza didn’t stop the Blue Jays from throwing $150 million at George Springer. It probably won’t stop Carlos Correa from cashing in somewhere next winter either.
And yet that’s still not enough. I guess when you’re used to getting everything handed to you, including the opposing pitcher’s pitches, nothing is ever good enough. So the Astros complained to MLB, reportedly, and got this creative dude thrown out of Yankee Stadium amongst other things.
There’s no doubt that some fans crossed the line, because they do wherever teams go. It’s an unsavory part of the job, but it is part of the job. Anything that’s over the line is generally pointed out and that fan is removed. A guy showing up in an Oscar The Grouch costume isn’t that. Nor are inflatable trash cans. Again, the Astros are lucky fans didn’t show up with whatever they found on the sidewalk in front of their places. Or that it was July and that stuff had been baking in the summer sun.
Perhaps what the league office is really upset about it is that the whole thing highlights how no player really ever paid for all of this and MLB dropped the ball. They’d like to pretend the whole thing never happened, so Rob Manfred can get back to telling you how much he thinks the game sucks right now (or how it doesn’t so you can start betting on it regularly).
The Astros haven’t been to Dodger Stadium yet, and they can’t expect any better there. Or Fenway, where they like to be spicy just for the hell of it. And this is with stadiums hardly full. What would have been their reaction if it were 54,000 to welcome them?
The Astros just need to wear this. They’ve earned it, after all.
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