Let’s Call Them The Houston Asterisks*

When Roger Maris hit his 61^st home run in Yankee Stadium on the last day of the season in 1961 breaking Babe Ruth's record of 60, baseball commissioner Ford Frick promptly added an asterisk to the record. Frick, a one-time PR person for the Babe, reasoned the expanded season to 162 games that season gave Maris an advantage, and therefore his record should bear the mark of the asterisk. 

Decades later, when Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds all blew past the 61-homer mark, hitting 70, 66 and 73 respectively, no asterisk was applied, even though all three were "juicers," steroid users.

The reason for bringing up the asterisk again is because Rob Manfred, the current commissioner of Major League Baseball, raised it at a press conference focusing on the Houston Astros video sign-stealing scandal. “Whether or not you put an asterisk next to [the title] or ask for the trophy back, I don’t think it makes that much difference,” Manfred explained. “Once you go down that road of changing what happens on the field, I just don’t know how you decide where to stop.”

“I do expect that we will have really serious restrictions on player and [coaching] personnel access to video in-game,” Manfred said. “I think it’s very important for us to send a message to fans that not only did we investigate and punish, but we altered our policies in a way to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

In an interview with Karl Ravech on ESPN, Manfred addressed the fan's adverse reaction to the league's leniency. "I understand people's desire to have the players pay a price for what went on here. I think if you watch the players, watch their faces when they have to deal with this issue publicly; they have paid a price. To think that they're skipping down the road into spring training happy, that's just a mischaracterization of where we are."

Jim Crane, the owner of the Houston Astros, said, "Our opinion is this didn't impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series and we'll leave it at that." Newly hired Astro’s manager Dusty Baker said, "I just want to ask for the baseball world to forgive them for the mistakes they've made. We're looking forward to an excellent season this year in a great town that's a great baseball town. We want to bring a championship back."

More investigations

The Astros are not the only team under suspicion. The Boston Red Sox, who won the 2018 World Series are under investigation, and its manager, Alex Cora, was given a one-year suspension. Another manager, Carlos Beltran, was also banned for a year.

Manfred also warned current players. “I made it extremely clear to them that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it’s Houston or anybody else. It’s dangerous and it is not helpful to the current situation.” Vigilant justice should never be condoned, but if players do retaliate against the cheaters, it will be part of a long tradition of the players policing themselves. Which to be honest is more than the league is willing to do.

Players not disciplined

Long and short, the real lesson of the Houston Astro scandal is that the team and its players cheated and got away with it. Yes, four people were disciplined, but the players and the teams kept the World Series title and the income associated with it.

“Sports,” John Wooden used to say, “do not build character, they reveal it." Major league baseball has revealed its character, and it stinks. It sends a clear signal to the youth who play the game—cheaters win!

As the new season family-friendly promotions of the game are unveiled, they should be obligated to carry an asterisk and the words, “Character not included.”

Note: After posting this piece, further research on my part revealed that the term “Houston Asterisks” has been trending on social media ever since results of the sign-stealing scandal were released on January 13, 202o.