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2020 – MLB hands down unprecedented penalties for Astros after sign-stealing investigation. In the most dramatic ruling of his five-year tenure, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred came down hard on the Astros Monday for illegally stealing signs during their World Series championship season in 2017. The unprecedented penalties are Manfred’s response to the damage the Astros inflicted on the sport’s integrity, and should serve as a powerful deterrent to any team that engages in such conduct in the future.
The penalties, according to sources with knowledge of Manfred’s decision, include:
- • A one-year suspension for general manager Jeff Luhnow.
- • A one-year suspension for manager A.J. Hinch.
- • The forfeitures of first- and second-round draft picks in both 2020 and ’21.
- • A fine of $5 million, the maximum allowed under MLB’s constitution.
- • The placement of former Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman on baseball’s ineligible list.
Astros cheating punishment MLB stmt.pdf
Shortly after the announcement from MLB Astros owner Jim Crane fired general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch. The next day the Boston Red Sox announced that their manager Alex Cora who was implicated in the Astros cheating was also fired as the investigation of the Red Sox cheating moves forward.