Anthony Rendon: Nationals Knew Astros Were Stealing Signs
Anthony Rendon helped the Washington Nationals top the Houston Astros in the 2019 World Series and dropped a bomb about that matchup on Monday. Rendon claimed the Nationals knew the Astros were stealing signs during the World Series.
During a media session on Monday, Rendon -- who is now a member of the Los Angeles Angels -- was asked about the Astros sign-stealing scandal. He answered several questions concerning how he views the players now, etc. Then he was asked if the Nationals knew the Astros were stealing signs. Here's what he had to say:
Anthony Rendon said the Nationals were tipped off on the Astros’ sign-stealing prior to the 2019 World Series and that they were suspicious. Said this was pretty well known what Houston was up to, but said that he we all aren’t perfect.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 17, 2020
Anthony Rendon on the Nats being aware of the Astros’ sign-stealing: "We were aware of it. We were aware of it throughout the entirety of the playoffs. We kind of have a sense of what teams were doing what, and so we can kind of just get a feel of what they might be doing."
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 17, 2020
Wow. So the Nationals knew the Astros were still cheating in 2019. That's a pretty big bombshell we hadn't heard before. Rendon and his teammates were fully aware of what was going on and he implied other teams knew as well.
So was this an open secret, like the steroids era? Was it accepted among other players or was everyone mad about it but afraid to speak up? You'd figure if everyone knew about this it would have leaked far earlier than it did.
Rendon helped the Nationals beat the Astros in a thrilling, seven-game World Series. In an odd twist, the road team won every game in that series, which means the Astros' video sign-stealing clearly wasn't working as they'd hoped.
After winning a ring with the Nationals, Rendon signed a huge, seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels in December. So yeah, the 29-year-old is riding pretty high right now.