(Reuters) – New details emerged on Friday in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal that has engulfed professional baseball, with the Wall Street Journal reporting https://www.wsj.com/articles/houston-astros-cheating-scheme-dark-arts-co… that the Astros’ front office set a program in motion to decode opposing catchers’ signs.
The report, which cites a letter from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and interviews with several people familiar with the matter, said the Astros’ front office used an algorithm based off Excel spreadsheets dubbed “Codebreaker” during the 2017 season, which included the team’s World Series-winning run, and into 2018.
The report paints a more sophisticated picture of the incidents involving the Astros, which the MLB said at the outset involved employees using a live game feed from the centerfield camera to observe opponents’ signs.
Last month, the Astros fired Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow after they each received a one-year suspension from the league because of the cheating scandal.
(Reporting By Amy Tennery; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
