Tom Glavine calls out Astros sign-stealing critics

Atlanta Braves legend Tom Glavine is not about to call out the Houston Astros for stealing signs years ago ahead of his former club’s first trip to the World Series since 1999.

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Series, Atlanta Braves legend Tom Glavine is not one to cast a stone at the Houston Astros for their infamous sign-stealing scandal.

“I don’t even think about it. I’m not going to say that what the Astros did was right, by any stretch of the imagination. Everybody in baseball is trying to cheat, don’t kid yourself,” said Glavine on The Zach Gelb Show Monday night. “Everybody’s trying to find an advantage, find an edge. Now, what the Astros did at the time crossed the line, and there’s no question about that.”

“But I feel like there’s a lot of people casting stones who maybe shouldn’t be casting stones… They crossed the line, they suffered the consequences for it. And look, to their credit, here they are again… A lot of those guys paid a pretty heavy price. But to me, it’s over and done with. And any suggestion that what happened that year has something to do with what the Astros are doing this year, I just think is ridiculous.”

Given that the Braves have no connection to the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Glavine has a point.

Tom Glavine calls out those who criticize the Houston Astros for stealing signs

Glavine is totally right in the sense that everybody pushes the envelope. Don’t kid yourself. Your favorite team in any sport goes up to the line and even crosses it. While what the Astros did hurt the integrity of the game, they crossed the line too many times over so many years and finally got caught for it. Pointing the finger at an organization for cheating is naïvely calling the kettle black.

Glavine may be one of the best pitchers in MLB history, but he specialized throwing fastballs low in the zone a few inches off the plate. Combined with his devastating circle-change, he won over 300 games in his illustrious big-league career. As he said above, every player in any sport is trying to look for an edge to exploit. Then again, the Astros did do egregiously over the top in 2017-18.

Here is to the 2021 World Series being about a former rivalry and not about banging trash cans.