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'Houston Asterisks' Banner Flies over Oakland Coliseum Before Astros vs. A's
August 8, 2020
A "Houston Asterisks" banner flew over Oakland Coliseum prior to the Houston Astros' road game against the Oakland Athletics on Friday (h/t Jessica Kleinschmidt of NBC Sports):
The 2020 Astros' Shame Tour Twitter account shared videos and images of the plane before and during the banner flying:
Major League Baseball released a report in January that outlined illegal sign-stealing practices the 2017 Astros used en route to their World Series title. The fallout included year-long suspensions for manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, who were eventually fired by Astros owner Jim Crane.
No players were punished, and the Astros' World Series title stayed intact sans asterisks in the history books.
Opposing fans and players have reacted negatively toward the Astros' practices as well as the punishment (or lack thereof) levied, and they have expressed their feelings in various ways.
On July 28, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly threw behind Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, threw near Astros shortstop Carlos Correa's chin and talked trash with Correa as he walked off the field.
Kelly was suspended for eight games.
Houston entered its three-game series with the first-place A's down 2.5 games in the American League West standings at 6-6.