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NFT: This Astros scandal is great for baseball

Sean : 2/18/2020 9:13 pm
For once, there is some national exposure. There is some controversy. LeBron James chimed in on Twitter today - national radio programs which never discuss the sport are discussing it.

I know I’ll be watching Yankees-Astros whenever they play in the regular season. The Astros are a villain and will be very interesting to follow.

The sport needs some controversy, it’s important for relevance on the national level. Regionally, the sport does great - but something like this gives MLB national curiosity.

I think it’s great just like the steroid era I feel was good for the game. Nice to see baseball getting some buzz for once.
I wouldn’t mistake short term buzz  
UConn4523 : 2/18/2020 9:15 pm : link
for being good for the game. The steroid era ruined baseball despite the popularity spike during the he race.
I will agree it's created a large degree of buzz.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 2/18/2020 9:30 pm : link
As for whether that's good for the game, I don't know. I did see an over/under of 83.5 how many times an Astros batter is beaned this season. Haha.

Even if their title isn't stripped-highly doubtful-I think nobody outside of Greater Houston views their title as legit.
It’s sad to me  
RobCarpenter : 2/18/2020 9:32 pm : link
That no one is talking about whether or not the Nationals will repeat.

Having said that, f the Astros and I’m so happy they lost the WS.
sure, controversy sells  
MM_in_NYC : 2/18/2020 9:45 pm : link
but that is still a cynical perspective that in the long run relies on the better motivations of the sport to redeem itself. otherwise it just extends the trajectory it was already on.
short term yes  
larryflower37 : 2/18/2020 9:46 pm : link
but long term this hurts the game.
Isn’t buzzing the thing that got us here?  
Mattman : 2/18/2020 10:03 pm : link
... f astros
What percent of the country even knows the Nats are champs?  
since1925 : 2/18/2020 10:07 pm : link
Single digits.
Nope  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/18/2020 10:15 pm : link
It’s a showing of weak leadership all around that makes you disgusted. Manfred even fucked up when it came to respecting the fucking World Series trophy.

The commish. The pathetic owner. The bullshitting players. So many levels of failure. L
.  
Danny Kanell : 2/18/2020 10:30 pm : link
1. This doesn’t help baseball.
2. Baseball doesn’t need help. It’s great the way it is.
This is such a cynical take  
adamg : 2/18/2020 10:32 pm : link
A vacated championship is good for a sport?
The 81 occasions the Astros aren’t playing in Houston this season  
The_Boss : 2/18/2020 11:23 pm : link
Are going to be miserable experiences for them. Boos and beanballs should be as abundant this summer as cherry pies and steamy temperatures. Fuck ‘em.
From what I read, the Nationals has multiple teams calling them  
PhiPsi125 : 2/18/2020 11:48 pm : link
to let them know what the Astros were doing. So, in a way, the Nationals had an advantage during the World Series if they were smart enough to change their signs...which I’m sure they did.

Looking forward to neither of those two teams even sniffing the WS next season.
Let's see, in the past 25 years...  
sb from NYT Forum : 2/19/2020 12:04 am : link
...we've had the strike and first ever cancelled WS, then steroids, now this. That's 3 seismic fuckups in less than 30 years. All without a strong independent commissioner (or because of no independent commissioner?).

I think the MLB is pretty fucked.
This is the exact same argument  
montanagiant : 2/19/2020 1:58 am : link
Pushed on WFAN this Afternoon
LOL  
Davisian : 2/19/2020 2:20 am : link
Yup, have MLB be the incarcerated Bob of pro sports. The buzz will be so influencerie(y?).

I hope a screenplay is in the works  
flycatcher : 2/19/2020 6:50 am : link
this would make a great movie.
Yes  
BigBill : 2/19/2020 7:07 am : link
Just like your post is great for this forum 🤣😂 jk well not really 😇
I hardly think that a cheating scandal  
section125 : 2/19/2020 7:22 am : link
is good for baseball. The only thing "good" is that the Astros got caught. It took three season for the evidence to be good enough and a player that talked and that was too long. The league knew this was going on. Boone called them out and the league dismissed it. The sad part is the players knew it was going on and allowed it to happen. Players that left the Astros kept their mouths shut until Fiers. You would think that the league could have seen home and away splits that clearly were out of whack, especially playoffs. I think it was Jomboy showed how bad they were on the road in playoffs and how tremendous they were at home. Even in the ALCS the Yankees had better stats overall at the plate, yet lost.

But let's face it, the Astros have been "cheating" for years. All the years tanking to gobble up 1st picks in the draft cheated their fans, who paid good money to see pro baseball, yet were treated to a team that was all about losing on purpose. Now other teams are trying the same approach by purposely ridding themselves of developed stars for prospects, lower contracts and higher draft picks. Also, the Astros had years of taking in a share of the luxury tax collected from teams trying to compete while the ownership pocketed cash (cheating the players by not spending that money on contracts.)

So no, I don't think the Astros cheating was good for baseball.
Jomboy  
dune69 : 2/19/2020 7:41 am : link
for President!!

Wait, is that a political statement? Sorry.

Astros suck.
RE: From what I read, the Nationals has multiple teams calling them  
RobCarpenter : 2/19/2020 7:45 am : link
In comment 14813756 PhiPsi125 said:
Quote:
to let them know what the Astros were doing. So, in a way, the Nationals had an advantage during the World Series if they were smart enough to change their signs...which I’m sure they did.

Looking forward to neither of those two teams even sniffing the WS next season.


Think the Dodgers were especially helpful. I don’t think any team is as angry at the Astros. Followed by the Yankees.

I also think it was an open secret about what Houston was doing.
As a lifelong..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 2/19/2020 8:26 am : link
baseball fan, there is no good this is doing the sport. It isn't going to attract more fans. It isn't going to spike interest in the game. It actually could deter non-fans from deciding to watch thinking the sport is fixed.

There's really no scandal that is good for a sport. Deflategate wasn't good for NFL, nor was SpyGate. Watching the travails of Antonio Brown falling into a pit of madness isn't boosting viewership or interest. Fixing horse races didn't drive people to go to the track. Rigged judging boxing matches is part of what ruined a once-great sport.

There is very little positive that can be taken from this.
RE: What percent of the country even knows the Nats are champs?  
Zeke's Alibi : 2/19/2020 9:29 am : link
In comment 14813738 since1925 said:
Quote:
Single digits.


I'm a pretty big sports guy and I straight up thought Astros were champions.
...  
26.2 : 2/19/2020 9:33 am : link
Well, I certainly remember the Nats winning and are currently the defending WS champs. They also saved baseball. Imagine the narrative had the Astros won last season instead of in 2017.
No it's not  
Carson53 : 2/19/2020 10:42 am : link
.
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