I have to imagine there are a lot of broken hearts in Houston. As you know I adopted the Astros as my fan-away-from-home team when I started spending time in Houston and going to the games. My proper team is, and will always be, the Tigers so at least I am somewhat insulated from the fallout from the cheating scandal -- although not the slightest bit insulated from 98 losses in '17 and '18 and 114 (!) losses last year.
Well, at least they were honest losses.
Nope, that doesn't help.
Anyway, in case you haven't been paying attention, the Astros were revealed to be blatantly cheating via illegal sign-stealing during their 2017 World Series victory year. Naturally, once word got out, accusations, some highly speculative, compounded. Indignation spiralled, not all of it self-serving. I won't recap everything here.
What is going to be fascinating to me is what happens going forward. The MLB players are complaining that the punishment wasn't enough; that the Series and other awards should be stripped and maybe even rewarded to offended parties. Pitchers who got sent down to the minors after poor showings against the Astros are now martyrs. Pete Rose applied for reinstatement claiming his transgressions weren't as bad. The new Astros manager has asked MLB to take steps to protect the Astros from physical retaliation, both on- and off-field, when they are on the road. Honestly, the Astros might be grateful for the coronavirus as a distraction.
One thing is for sure, as we saw with the steroid scandal, everyone involved is tainted for life. The Astros organization has probably a decade before it recovers, in reputation, competitiveness, and financially. Much depends on how their fans react. If there is a chill in the air in Houston towards the Astros, that points to a long time until recovery. Most of the current players will have to have moved on before things begin to normalize. Would you buy a jersey with the name of a known, admitted cheater on it? You might cheer their achievements but would you pay top dollar for a box seat? (Contrarianism: If you are dedicated to the Astros for life, now might be a good time to purchase season tickets. They may never be cheaper.)
The Astros players may never recover. Have a bad year and everyone will think it's because you stopped cheating. Have a great year and everyone will be suspicious that something shady is going on. Endorsements will plummet. Your wikipedia page will be riddled with references to the scandal. And should you be good enough to be considered for the Hall of Fame, don't hold your breath. Worse this will affect your family right along with you.
Maybe it would have been kinder for MLB to strip them of their prizes and suspend the players. They could have at least claimed to have paid their debt and maybe started with a clean slate. As of now they are doomed to be walking asterisks.
