White Sox reliever calls out ‘cheater’ Carlos Correa for sign-stealing scandal

The 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal just won’t go away, and for good reason. Carlos Correa has since moved on, but baseball hasn’t forgotten.

The Minnesota Twins faced off against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. The White Sox won the game — a much-needed victory, by the way — with Carlos Correa as the final out of the game for Minnesota.

Chicago relief pitcher Keynan Middleton recorded a rare save, striking Correa out to end the game. He could have kept his feelings to himself, but Middleton spent much of his career in the AL West, including the 2017 season.

Middleton had plenty to say about Correa postgame:

“I knew I was going to face Correa, and I don’t like him. So it was kind of cool,” he said. “I like that. I enjoyed that a lot. … I mean, he’s a cheater.”

White Sox relief pitcher calls Carlos Correa a cheater

It’s unknown to what extent Correa used Houston’s sign-stealing system that year, but he has since succeeded elsewhere.

ESPN’s explanation of the Astros sign-stealing system is a simplistic one, in part because the so-called cheating itself wasn’t all that complicated:

"“MLB’s investigation determined Houston used a video feed from a center-field camera to see and decode the opposing catcher’s signs during home games. Players banged on a trash can to signal to batters what was coming, believing it would improve the their odds of getting a hit.”"

Neither Correa nor any of the players were disciplined by MLB, as they were willing to discuss the matter with investigators on the record after an article was released by The Athletic which broke said news.

A.J. Hinch was suspended for a season, and Jeff Luhnow was fired as well after a punishment of the same length. Correa’s reputation, along with many of the players involved, haven’t recovered since.