Although the belief Yu Darvish tipped pitches hovered over it, the 2017 World Series was considered by many one of the best in MLB history. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros played to seven games, with each team experiencing heartache and jubilation along the way.
Of course, it was the Astros who ultimately won the title, defeating the Dodgers in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium. But what once stood as an all-time World Series thriller is now part of the Astros’ alleged cheating scandal.
They are believed to have installed a camera in center field at Minute Maid Park that was used to capture signs from opposing catchers. That information would be used to relay to Astros batters which pitch was coming by either banging a trash can or whistling.
An young fan used that premise for a ‘knock knock’ joke told to Austin Barnes, who played a key role for the Dodgers during the 2017 postseason after taking the starting job behind the plate from Yasmani Grandal.
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The child, Robert Rodriguez, admitted to feeling some uncertainty over the joke and conceded he may have been better suited telling it to an Astros player, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times:
“I just thought of the joke because he was the Dodgers catcher in the 2017 World Series,” Robert told The Times on Monday night. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to like my joke.”
“I think the joke would have been funnier if I had told it to an Astros player.”
Although the Dodgers may have had a World Series taken from them in some part by illegal use of technology, the organization has largely avoided blaming their loss on the possibility.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friemdan admitted there were whispers and concerns the Astros were proficient at stealing signs, but scouting didn’t turn up any definitive proof that was done so outside of the field of play.
Joc Pederson noted even if the Astros are found guilty, there is no overturning the outcome, and Kenley Jansen echoed a similar sentiment.
Meanwhile, a memorabilia creator drew inspiration from the scandal by designing a bobblehead that features a figure holding a laptop in one hand, a bat in the other, and is standing next to a trash can.
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