The New York Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2009.
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was asked about what it means to him to be back in the World Series after 15 years, and his answer may surprise many.
"It means a lot, and I hate the 15-year thing because it completely forgets and discounts that some other organizations cheated us when we were all the way in the end. If you knew what was going on, I don’t think they would have even been advancing during that time. I think we would have been advancing, so I hate that 15-year thing, because I don’t think it accurately reflects history," Cashman said during an appearance on MLB Network’s "High Heat."
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Cashman is referring to the 2017 and 2019 Houston Astros teams that beat the Yankees in the ALCS.
In the 2017 season, the Astros set up a camera in the outfield at their home stadium that focused on home plate. A TV monitor was placed in the dugout that had the feed from the camera in the outfield.
Players and staff would then decode the signs from opposing catchers, and then relay what pitch was coming with a loud noise. The noise was generally banging on a trash can.
In a since deleted post, Evan Gattis, a member of the 2017 Astros, admitted that he knew what pitch was coming from Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia during the Astros Game 7 4-0 win because of their sign-stealing system.
The Astros beat the Yankees in that ALCS and went on to win the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Gattis also admitted that the team knew what pitches were coming in the World Series as well.
The MLB handed out one-year suspensions to then Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch. Both Luhnow and Hinch were fired on the day the suspensions were handed down. Hinch now currently manages the Detroit Tigers.
The Astros also forfeited their first and second round draft picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts, while also being fined $5 million.
Also suspended was Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Cora was Houston’s bench coach in 2017 before taking the manager’s position with the Red Sox following their World Series run.
Cora was suspended for a season, and then was re-hired by the Red Sox once he served his suspension. Cashman also may have been subtly mentioning the 2018 Red Sox, which Cora managed to the World Series, as they were also punished for sign-stealing transgressions - that team beat the Yankees in the ALDS.
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Carlos Beltran was hired to be the manager of the New York Mets but was let go before managing a single game due to his involvement with the operation when he was a player on the team.
In the 2019 ALCS, Jose Altuve hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 to send the Astros to the World Series over the Yankees. People were suspicious that Altuve was wearing a buzzer that signaled what pitch was coming, because as he was rounding third base and going home, he signaled to his teammates to not take his shirt off.
Altuve then went down to the clubhouse to change shirts before conducting his interview and celebrating with the team. It has never been confirmed that Altuve was wearing a buzzer.
After taking a shot at the Astros, Cashman praised his current group.
"But regardless, we are proud to be where we are now. I think without a doubt our baseball ops, our organization, led by our owner Hal Steinbrenner, I think we put a championship-caliber team out on the field every year, and you can dream big things, and this year's version has happened to punch through so far, and hopefully we can take advantage of it by winning four more games," Cashman added.
The World Series begins on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX in Los Angeles. Gerrit Cole will get the start for the Yankees, while Jack Flaherty will get the start for the Dodgers.
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