Mike Trout rips cheating Astros for sign-stealing
Mike Trout was asked about the Houston Astros sign-stealing, and proceeded to rip the Angels’ AL West rivals.
No players from other teams are happy to know the Houston Astros went to the lengths they did to steal signs, and the criticism has extended to players not being punished for their roles in the scheme. If Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout knew what pitch was coming, we can shudder to think about the kind of numbers he’d put up.
Trout reported to spring training with other Angels’ position players on Monday, and naturally he was asked about the Astros’ sign-stealing. He started with MLB’s lack of punishment for the players involved, and acknowledged a loss of respect from some of them.
“They cheated … I don’t agree with the punishment … I lost respect for some of those guys.”
“Going up to the plate knowing what’s coming … that would be a lot of fun.”
Mike Trout is not happy with the Astros and the punishment they received pic.twitter.com/VDwJCFZXHl
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) February 17, 2020
Trout is the best player in baseball by most measures. But he’s also fairly reserved, and subdued to a level where he has drawn criticism for not drawing attention to himself and becoming the marketable star baseball needs.
So even if the criticism of the Astros is obvious and expected from across baseball, it’s nice to see Trout be out front and speak candidly on the issue and the impact of the rampant cheating. He also said some Astros’ players have reached out to him to explain and/or apologize.
Mike Trout says he lost respect for some of the Astros, thinks the players should be punished. He also talked about how much fun he’d have hitting if he knew what pitches were coming.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) February 17, 2020
Speaking more specifically on the assertion Astros second baseman Jose Altuve didn’t want his jersey ripped off after an ALCS-clinching home run last fall, due to his wife’s concerns or a bad, unfinished tattoo, Trout placed himself in that situation with no such modesty to be found.
Mike Trout: “You can take my shirt off...if you hit a homer to send your team to the World Series at home, you can do whatever you want to me.”
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 17, 2020
Next. 5 teams who should trade for Kris Bryant. dark
The Angels and Astros open the 2020 season against each other in Houston on March 26.