Los Angeles Angels player Mike Trout has joined the list of players criticizing the league for how it handled the Houston Astros cheating scandal. Trout called the situation "sad for baseball," adding, "I don't agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys' careers have been affected, a lot of people lost jobs. It was tough. Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming -- it would be pretty fun up there. I lost some respect for some of the guys. It's not good for baseball, and it's sad to see."
The Astros were caught for creating a system to decode and communicate an opposing team's pitching signs during the team's 2017 championship season. While sign stealing is commonplace, it is illegal to use electronic devices to do so. Employees for the Astros used a live game feed of the center field camera to decode sign sequences and then relayed that information to hitters.
Commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, who were subsequently fired by Astros owner Jim Crane.
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