The Houston Astros won the 2022 World Series with a 4-1 game win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Nov. 5. Although the Astros won the World Series for the second time in franchise history the question of its legitimacy is still in play. Did Houston legitimately win the World Series or is this another example of the 2017 cheating scandal?
In 2017 the Astros were involved in a cheating scandal that has been named one of the worst in Major League Baseball history. The team was accused of stealing signs in an attempt to swing games in their favor. The Astros fired manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnhow in 2020, almost three years after reports of the scandal surfaced. They were also banned from the game for the subsequent year. The scandal additionally resulted in a 5 million dollar fine given to the Astros by the Major League Baseball association as well as docking several of their top draft picks.
The 2017 scandal also caused debate about the legitimacy of the Astros 2017 World Series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. There was significant debate regarding the decision of whether or not they should be stripped of their 2017 title. Ultimately, the Major League Baseball Association decided against stripping the Astros of their World Series title with the notion that if they started to reverse past calls on the field now where would it ever end.
Travel back to 2022 where the Astros have just won their second World Series. The final game on Saturday was filled with anxiety for fans on both teams. If the Astros claimed the game they would be champions. If the Phillies were able to win they would have a chance to play in game six for a chance to tie the series with Huston.
The Astros were down until the bottom of the sixth inning with a score of 0-1. Yordan Alvarez was then able to hit a home run which brought in three batters and turned the game around with the Astros claiming a 4-1 lead over the Phillies. The Astros were able to maintain the lead through the ninth inning and were named the 2022 World Series champions.
Although the Astros have won the championship, how will fans ever trust the legitimacy of the series? The 2017 cheating scandal will forever follow the Astros and will continue to leave a bad taste in individuals’ mouths when they think of the Houston Astros. For now, the Astros are the 2022 World Series champions but only time will tell if they have truly earned that title or if this is a repeat of the 2017 scandal.
