Deflategate was dramatized as if it were an unforgivable cheating scandal. The New England Patriots deflated some footballs and smashed the Indianapolis Colts, reaching the Super Bowl and eventually winning a championship.
What the St. Louis Cardinals organization reportedly did to the Houston Astros, however, is actually big news.
According to Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times, the FBI is investigating the team “for hacking into the internal networks of a rival team to steal closely guarded information about player personnel.” Schmidt continued:
“Investigators have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials broke into a network of the Houston Astros that housed special databases the team had built, according to law enforcement officials. Internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports were compromised, the officials said.”
The Cardinals and Astros were both members of the National League Central from 1994-2012, but that’s not their only connection. As Schmidt notes, Houston’s current GM, Jeff Luhnow, worked in St. Louis for eight years.
“Law enforcement officials believe the hacking was executed by vengeful front-office employees for the Cardinals hoping to wreak havoc on the work of Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager who had been a successful and polarizing executive with the Cardinals until 2011.”
To be perfectly frank, members of the St. Louis front office could be in serious trouble. This type of cheating in American professional sports is what many of us consider an imaginary situation merely created by bitter fans.
There is no precedent as to what happens next. So for now, sit back, and wait for the events to unfold.
Photo: USA Today Sports