The Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal took Major League Baseball by storm over the past month, with the Los Angeles Dodgers arguably being most affected by the incident.
The club suffered a seven-game defeat to Houston in the 2017 World Series — the organization’s first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1988. The Astros won all but one of their home games against the Dodgers and defeated them on the road to secure their first title in franchise history.
While the Astros were levied significant penalties by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, their title was not vacated. Players were also granted immunity from punishments while the likes of Jeff Luhnow, AJ Hinch, Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran lost their jobs.
Another player that was indirectly affected by the Astros’ cheating is former Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier. He, like many other veterans on the roster, was denied a chance to bask in championship glory.
While playing in his only World Series, Ethier revealed that multiple Astros players half-kiddingly interrogated the Dodgers about stealing signs during the matchup, via Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts:
“They were questioning us, kind of half joking, ‘What are you guys doing? You guys are hitting the crap out of the ball,’ ” Ethier said. “That should have been the smoke right there. Obviously, they were doing something themselves, and they probably felt we were. ”
For Ethier, who spent his entire 12-year MLB career with the Dodgers, the 2017 World Series represented his last chance at winning a championship. While he intended to play in 2018, he ultimately retired during the season after not receiving a worthwhile opportunity.
Ethier logged six plate appearances over five games during the Fall Classic, collecting two hits, one walk and one RBI. He was responsible for the Dodgers’ only run in Game 7, driving in Joc Pederson with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
Dodgers president of baseball operation Andrew Friedman previously mentioned that the organization was wary of the Astros’ unorthodox method of stealing signs, and many players on the roster evidently felt the same way.
A suspicious Alex Wood noted that he often changed his signs with Austin Barnes during his Game 4 start at Minute Maid Park.
The decision proved to be effective, as Wood held the Astros to just one run on one hit in 5.2 innings of work, striking out three batters and issuing two walks. His lone blemish on the night was allowing a solo home run to George Springer in the sixth inning.
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