Brian Cashman still hasn't forgotten.
The New York Yankees general manager, even with his team set to play in its first World Series game in nearly two decades on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, still clearly seethes about the Houston Astros' infamous sign-stealing scandal from the 2017 regular season and postseason, which he feels cost his club a chance at a title.
Cashman, making an appearance on Chris Russo's High Heat on MLB Network on Tuesday, was asked about what it means for the Yankees to get back to the World Series after 15 years. The Yankees executive bristled ever-so-slightly at the mention of 15 years, then proceeded to take a not-so-subtle shot at the Astros.
"It means a lot," Cashman said. "I hate the 15-year thing because it completely forgets and discounts that some other organization cheated us when we were all the way in the end. If you knew what was going on, then I don't think they would be advancing during that time."
"I think we would have been advancing. So, I hate that 15-year thing because I don't think it accurately reflects history but regardless, we're proud to be where we are now."
The 2017 Yankees won the American League Wild Card game over the Minnesota Twins, then overcame a 2-0 deficit in the Division Series to defeat the Cleveland Guardians. Facing another 2-0 hole in the AL Championship Series against Houston, New York won three straight at Yankee Stadium and returned to Houston on the doorstep of the World Series. But the Yankees lost two straight games and were eliminated.
Two years later, former Astros pitcher-turned-whistleblower Mike Fiers exposed the team's intricate sign-stealing operation in a November 2019 interview with The Athletic. The Astros, it was discovered through a league investigation, utilized the video replay room to decode opposing team's signs, then banged on trash cans to deliver the decoded signs to hitters at the plate, alerting them as to what pitch was coming.
Houston was alleged to have stolen signs throughout the 2017 season and even into the '18 campaign. Then-manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year, the club was fined $5 million and was stripped of its first and second round draft picks for two years. But no player incurred a suspension, to the chagrin of fellow players around MLB.
Stars such as the Yankees' Aaron Judge and then-Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger were among the players who called out Houston for the scandal. And this is not the first time that Cashman, clearly still resentful, has fired a shot across the bow at the Astros.
But perhaps a potential sweet victory over the Dodgers in the World Series will ease the bitterness of defeat from seven Octobers ago for Cashman.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Yankees' Brian Cashman Takes Cheating Jab at Astros Before World Series.
