Yahoo Finance Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner on Astros' cheating: 'I was as upset as anyone'
The general vibe of the offseason for fans of the New York Yankees — and a number of other teams — has been righteous fury at the Houston Astros, for reasons that every single baseball fan should know by now.
That feeling apparently stretched even into the Yankee’s ownership box.
Yankees principle owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters Wednesday that he was upset when he first learned about the allegations against Astros and their illegal sign-stealing schemes, though he also signaled a hope that the game could move on after an offseason rife with anger and accusations.
From the Associated Press:
“When the report came out, I was as upset as anyone,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday at the baseball owners meeting. “Clearly, there were direct implications to my organization, our team, our 2017 team. But at some point I think we all for the sake of the game and the good of the game, need to move on.”
The 2017 Yankees had their season ended by the Astros in a seven-game ALCS, and that has caused several fans — and players — to feel they were robbed of possibly not just an American League title, but a World Series title. The Astros would later top the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in the Fall Classic.
At the very least, the Astros’ cheating — which MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said extended into the postseason — potentially cost the Yankees their best shot at their first World Series appearance since 2009.
When asked if he had been wondering about the tricky question of “What if?” Steinbrenner admitted yes:
"I think enough people have brought that to my attention, and I'm a reasonably smart guy. I've certainly thought that," Steinbrenner said.
The Yankees obviously haven’t been alone in condemning the Astros cheating, as a number of Dodgers teed off on the Astros and their tainted ring earlier in the offseason.
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