Jose Altuve won't comment on sign-stealing, but reassures Astros fans 'we will be in the World Series again'
The Houston Astros held their annual Fan Fest on Saturday, which was the first time players would be facing the media since MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released his report on the team’s sign-stealing scandal and handed down his punishments.
Alex Bregman spoke to the media earlier in the day and didn’t say much, but his teammate Jose Altuve was a little more talkative. On the issue of sign-stealing, though, Altuve wasn’t ready to say anything about himself or other players being involved.
.@JoseAltuve27 asked about the MLB report on the #Astros sign stealing was player-driven: “I think the time to comment about that will come. It’s a little early for me to say something about it.” pic.twitter.com/0UGK46ZzrY
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 18, 2020
Altuve did say that the only thing the Astros can do at this point is to move forward and stay together as a team.
.@JoseAltuve27: “It’s a tough situation..You got to move forward.” pic.twitter.com/dBD6xT2QuZ
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 18, 2020
He feels bad for former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and former manager AJ Hinch, but doesn’t say anything about how his and his teammates’ conduct cost both of them their jobs.
.@JoseAltuve27 on what happened to Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch: “I feel bad for them.” pic.twitter.com/DxV2GxDpnl
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 18, 2020
Altuve commented on the allegations that the Astros wore electronic buzzing devices under their jerseys to tell them what pitches were coming, saying that he found the entire episode silly.
.@JoseAltuve27 on the speculation on social media he was wearing an electronic device: “I wasn’t upset to be honest..We all know some people made that up. The best thing that happened to me was that MLB investigated that & they didn’t find something..U can’t control everything.” pic.twitter.com/dNhBDv2mAL
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 18, 2020
The 2017 Astros being proven cheaters hasn’t dampened any of Altuve’s swag, though. He promised Astros fans that they would be in the World Series again.
.@JoseAltuve27: “Believe me, at the end of the year everything will be fine. We’re gonna be in the World Series again.People don’t believe it. We will. We made it last year. We were 1 game away from winning it all.I’m happy for the Nationals..We will be in the World Series again” pic.twitter.com/P4YR415N2A
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 18, 2020
We’ve now heard from two different Astros players, and despite their cheating being proven as fact by MLB, neither seem to have any intention of being apologetic for using technology to steal signs on their way to winning a World Series. Altuve speaks like he and his teammates are the aggrieved party, when they’re actually the only ones who escaped punishment for this scandal despite cheating themselves.
It’s not a surprising attitude, but we’ll see how far it gets them. Thus far they’ve only had to face the media and the hometown fans at their annual festival, and these questions about sign-stealing certainly aren’t going away.
More from Yahoo Sports:
