SI's Tom Verducci shares his thoughts on the aftermath of the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal is put into perspective with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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00:00Hey there, I'm SI senior writer Tom Verducci. Remember when the whole world was angry at the
00:05Houston Astros for stealing signs? They wanted them to give back their World Series title,
00:09their championship rings, their postseason money. Well, one day in spring training, I watched the
00:14Astros play in a half-empty ballpark against the Marlins on what was Senior Day, sponsored by a
00:21local hospital. And even then, the fans were all over. Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer.
00:28Profanity, snark, outrage. It seemed to me a mini dress rehearsal for what the Astros would face
00:35in the regular season. And that gauntlet was scheduled to begin next week. First in Oakland
00:41against the A's and the whistleblower Mike Fiers. And then in Anaheim against the Angels,
00:47where thousands of angry Dodger fans had bought tickets. By June 3rd, the sideshow would have
00:52gone through Texas, Boston, New York. Each place trying to outdo the last in terms of the outrage,
00:59or just trying to do something that goes viral. And then the pandemic happened. We have no baseball,
01:07no normal way of life, no way of knowing when we'd have either one again. We've been reminded
01:13of what's truly important, our health, our families. And when we do gather again, hopefully
01:20we do so with more civility. You want to boo the Astros? Go ahead. Booing is a sporting tradition.
01:28But when it ventures into obscene language or wishing harm, then it's not about the Astros,
01:34it's about us. Now understand the Astros players were never going to be suspended,
01:39not with protection of the CBA. They were not vacating the title, not with no such precedent
01:46in the history of baseball. Instead, remember that the Astros have been penalized in a way
01:51that will last forever. Glass, China, reputations. Benjamin Franklin once said,
01:59they crack easily and are never fully mended. That day in Jupiter, I was worried about what I saw,
02:06what I heard, and where we were headed. Today, I'm more hopeful. More hopeful we'll have baseball
02:13again. And more hopeful that when we do, we return less angry and more thankful. Stay safe.