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Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner Says He Was 'As Upset as Anyone' with Astros Scandal
February 5, 2020
New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said Wednesday he's thought about the club's seven-game loss to the Houston Astros in the 2017 American League Championship Series since MLB released results of its investigation into the Astros' sign-stealing system that season.
"When the report came out, I was as upset as anyone," Steinbrenner told reporters. "Clearly, there were direct implications to my organization, our team, our 2017 team. But at some point I think we all for the sake of the game and the good of the game, need to move on."
The home team won all seven games in the 2017 ALCS, with Houston overcoming a 3-2 series deficit by beating the Yanks in the final two contests at Minute Maid Park.
"I think enough people have brought that to my attention, and I'm a reasonably smart guy. I've certainly thought that," Steinbrenner said.
After winning the first two games 2-1, the Astros lost all three matchups at Yankee Stadium by a combined score of 19-5. They bounced back at home to beat New York 7-1 and 4-0 in Games 6 and 7 to advance to the World Series, where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to win their first championship.
Houston's actions that season were first brought forward in November by former Astros starting pitcher Mike Fiers, who told Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic the team stole opponents' signs using a camera positioned in center field.
"That's not playing the game the right way," Fiers said. "They were advanced and willing to go above and beyond to win."
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles City Council voted last month to request MLB award the 2017 and 2018 World Series titles to the Dodgers. Along with losing to the Astros in 2017, the Dodgers fell short against the Boston Red Sox in 2018. The Red Sox are under investigation for alleged sign-stealing in their title-winning season.
The situation has created a dark cloud over baseball with spring training set to open for the 2020 campaign in mid-February.