Jose Altuve may not be as guilty as everyone thinks.
According to SNY MLB reporter Andy Martino’s new book, “Cheated,” which digs deeper into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, players told MLB investigators that Jose Altuve “didn’t want the pitches” when detailing who participated in the trash-can banging scheme.
Per Martino, Altuve would hear a bang and angrily glare into the dugout, with teammates often looking at one another saying, “he doesn’t want it.”
The information led MLB investigators to believe Altuve was, generally, not interested in having the signs.
Altuve has had to bear the brunt of the animosity toward the Astros since MLB determined that the team cheated to relay signs to the hitters during the 2017 season.
The All-Star second baseman was the league MVP that year, beating out Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the award. The Astros then beat the Yankees in seven games in the ALCS that season and again in 2019 when Altuve hit a walk-off home run off Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 — further fueling the fan bases hatred toward Altuve.
The latter also led to an uncorroborated theory that Altuve may have been using a buzzer to receive knowledge of the pitches, although MLB’s investigation found no evidence of that.
Of course, Carlos Correa has been trying to tell everyone of Altuve’s innocence since last spring training.
The Astros shortstop has repeatedly said that Altuve did not participate in the sign-stealing scandal and internet sleuths, such as Tony Adams — who logged every trash can bang — pointed to evidence that Altuve’s bangs appeared to be mistakes.
Whether or not the fact that Astros told MLB investigators this factoid changes the perception of Altuve remains to be seen, although it seems unlikely as some could argue the fact that, as a leader in the clubhouse, Altuve did not do enough to stop the cheating.
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