How Far is Too Far? Baseball’s Boss Has No Idea.

MLB’s commissioner Rob Manfred seems to let everything slide in 2020

Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB) claims to love baseball. One would hope that's the minimum requirement in order to run an entire sports league––especially when that role rakes in $11 million a year. But in 2020, Manfred has gotten nothing right, and passion for baseball and respect for the game seem to be the least of his concerns.  

In 2017, the Astros won the World Series through the most disgraceful scandal since the 1919 Black Sox. It rocked every corner of America’s pastime. Current Oakland A’s pitcher Mike Fiers, who spent three seasons with the Astros, went on record to reveal that his former team used technology to steal other teams’ signs and relay them to their own hitters at the plate. 

A camera in center field picked up the opposing catchers’ signs before each pitch. This camera was connected to a video monitor in the Astros’ dugout. Houston team members would watch the live streamed video and signal which pitch was about to be thrown to their hitters by banging on trash cans. Astros hitters knew whether to pounce on fastballs when they heard one bang from the dugout, or sit on off-speed pitches when they heard two. 

The Astros, known by some as the “Trashtros,” took away the opposing pitcher’s biggest threat: secrecy. They knew what was coming their way before every pitch was thrown. The sign-stealing scheme continued for three seasons. It wasn’t until this past January that the Astros’ secret was discovered. 

Houston fired their manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. The Boston Red Sox also parted ways with their own manager, Alex Cora, who was involved in the cheating scandal as the Astros bench coach in 2017. Despite all this, Manfred only suspended the three for one year, fined the Astros $5 million and took away four of their draft picks. 

Fast-forward to March of this year, when the baseball season was postponed due to the pandemic. Manfred argued with the league’s player’s union for months about when to start the season, what to pay the players and how to keep fans happy. While he eventually compromised with a shortened, 60-game season and a prorated pay for the players, he displayed no true sense of leadership when the league needed it most. 

Jump ahead to the 2020 World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers took home the hardware, but not without some drama. Their star third baseman Justin Turner was removed during the sixth inning of Game 6 and was told to isolate immediately after a positive coronavirus test. After the team won, the mask-less Turner left the isolation room and returned to the field to celebrate. He plopped himself right in the middle of teammates and took pictures holding the trophy high, often posing right next to Manfred. The commissioner chose not to punish Turner or the Dodgers even with a subsequent outbreak of coronavirus within the organization.

“We all have made mistakes as we navigated these unprecedented challenges and have tried to learn from those mistakes so they are not repeated. With this in mind, I am closing this matter by applauding Justin for accepting responsibility, apologizing and making a commitment to set a positive example going forward,” Manfred said in a prepared statement.

To top it all off, the league announced last Friday that Hinch and Cora would be rehired days after completing their one-year suspensions. Hinch will manage the Detroit Tigers next season, and Cora will be reunited with his Red Sox. 

Through all of this, Manfred failed to punish the Houston Astros for their horrific sign-stealing scandal. He lacked clear leadership when the pandemic halted the league’s season. He chose to do absolutely nothing about Justin Turner celebrating while his body was riddled with coronavirus. And now, he has allowed two of baseball’s biggest cheaters since the steroid era back into the game. 

Apparently there’s nothing you can do wrong in this sport—at least with Manfred in charge. How many rules do players, managers and coaches have to break for the line to be drawn? How far is too far in professional baseball? Clearly, MLB and its leader have no idea. 

I grew up watching Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens—all players who broke either the rules of baseball or were highly suspect because of steroid usage. Some have been completely shunned from the game and will never reach the Hall of Fame because of their mistakes. Their actions were inexcusable and they should face those consequences.

In light of that, it’s absurd to watch the Astros get off scot-free. In the past year, baseball fans have witnessed a team cheat their way to a World Series title, a league battle over paying its employees what they deserve and a player putting numerous people’s lives at risk—all without severe penalties. The whole sport suffers now because no responsibility is being taken. Manfred may truly make a difference in the game if only his passion for baseball rang true––and if he grew some guts in the process. 

They say the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. Well, not if you’re the Houston Astros. But if you’re Rob Manfred, holding people accountable for disrespecting the sport you claim to love might be even harder.