The Big Lead

Astros executive fired in wake of cheating scandal 'very happy about what happened'

Jeff Luhnow made a tone-deaf statement that somehow makes it harder to see him returning to Major League Baseball absent any semblance of contrition.

By J.P. Hoornstra

Houston Astros special assistant to the general manager Oz Ocampo, spanish broadcaster Alex Trevino, pitcher Roberto Osuna and general manager Jeff Luhnow (from left) address the media before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey on May 4, 2019.
Houston Astros special assistant to the general manager Oz Ocampo, spanish broadcaster Alex Trevino, pitcher Roberto Osuna and general manager Jeff Luhnow (from left) address the media before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey on May 4, 2019. / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images
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The Houston Astros' 2017 World Series championship is forever tainted by an illegal sign-stealing scheme that cost general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch their jobs.

While Hinch's reputation was robust enough to earn him a second chance at managing, with the Detroit Tigers, Luhnow hasn't worked a day for an MLB organization since his 2020 dismissal.

In an appearance on the Crush City Territory podcast, Luhnow said he does not believe he was "blackballed" by the baseball industry by the scandal, his firing, and the one-year suspension that followed. Without going into specifics, he said “two or three” owners have contacted him to gauge his interest in returning to MLB.

Given Hinch's continued employment — and success — it's no surprise Luhnow would get a second chance too. Both men downplayed their role in devising or implementing the so-called "banging scheme," in which players used real-time video (and a trash can) to decipher and relay pitches called by opposing catchers in 2017 and 2018.

Hinch told commissioner Rob Manfred's investigators that he was not supportive of his team illegally stealing opponents' signs, calling it "wrong and distracting." He twice destroyed video monitors used by Astros players to steal signs, forcing them to be replaced.

As for Luhnow, he apparently was able to sleep much better at night than Hinch.

“I am very proud of the fact that the Astros … there is no dynasty in the 21st century that comes close at this point," he said Friday. "I know I wasn’t there for the whole (dynasty). I was just there in the beginning but put them on a good course and am very happy about what happened.”

Among the teams that might have something to say about that: the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose fans have yet to forgive the Astros for what they perceive as a stolen 2017 championship.

Los Angeles isn't the only place the Astros — and the handful of still-active hitters associated with the scandal — have come to expect boos. But just like the Astros, the Dodgers have made four World Series appearances since 2017, winning twice.

In most books, that's a dynasty that "comes close" to the one in Houston, particularly if the outcome of the 2017 World Series is reversed.

Dodgers fans aren't alone in their displeasure with Manfred's decision not to penalize any Astros players, or amend their 2017 championship with an asterisk. The Yankees (eliminated by the Astros in the ALCS) and the Red Sox (eliminated by the Astros in the ALDS) aren't very happy about what happened — or didn't happen — in the wake of the cheating scandal.

Here's guessing that New York, Boston and Los Angeles aren't among the "two or three" places where Luhnow would be welcomed back to MLB.

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