One of the curiosities arising from the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and MLB's resulting disciplinary actions is that no players were punished. Only one player at the time -- Carlos Beltran -- was mentioned by name in the league's report, and the 2017 season was his final one as a player. This is despite the fact that Astros players were central to the devising and execution of the "banging scheme."
Said curiosity isn't lost on all, though. In particular, no less a figure than Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, baseball legend and owner of 755 career home runs, thinks the players involved got off way too easy. How easy? Here's what Aaron had to say on the Today Show:
.@craigmelvin asked Hank Aaron about the Astros’ scandal during a recent interview: “Do you think the punishment fit the crime?”
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 6, 2020
“No, I don’t. I think whoever did that should be out of baseball the rest of their life.” -Aaron pic.twitter.com/PTLF6z9azs
Yep, one of the greatest to ever play the game thinks the Astros players involved should be banned for life. That seems a bit harsh, but again it's indeed strange that a manager and exec were banned from the game for a season while no players suffered any consequences. These, by the way, were the five major sanctions handed down by commissioner Rob Manfred:
· Manager A.J. Hinch suspended for the 2020 season. Hinch was then fired by the Astros.
· GM Jeff Luhnow suspended for the 2020 season. Luhnow was then fired by the Astros.
· Former assistant GM Brandon Taubman suspended one year.
· Astros forfeit their first- and second- round draft picks the next two years.
· Astros fined $5 million, the maximum allowed under MLB's constitution.
Lucky for the unnamed players, Hammerin' Hank isn't tasked with administering those punishments.
One baseball figure who is still subject to a permanent ban is all-time hits leader and semi-contemporary of Aaron's, Pete Rose. Rose, it so happens, is leveraging the Astros scandal in his latest attempt to be reinstated by MLB.
