Dodgers: Former GM Ned Colletti Reacts To MLB Ruling on Houston Cheating Scandal
Obviously when the news broke Tuesday that Major League Baseball ruled on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, a ripple effect began from the fans to people formerly in the Dodgers organization.
Of course, the Dodgers felt the shockwaves of this scandal as closely as anyone. For instance, check out Gail Johnson’s latest piece.
Now former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti joins AM570 LA Sports to talk about the scandal. His quotes are pretty telling about how serious of a deal all of this is for anyone involved with the game of baseball.
.@realnedcolletti: "It makes me sick actually to think about it.
The team I love and the team I work for were some ways perhaps cheated out of a World Series." (?: @RogginAndRodney) https://t.co/OTdYl1hQjK
— AM 570 LA Sports (@AM570LASports) January 13, 2020
First, Colletti speaks from the heart in that he feels great pain for the Dodgers loss in the gut wrenching 2017 World Series loss.
“It makes me sick actually to think about it. The team I love and the team I work for were some ways perhaps cheated out of a World Series.”
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Next, Colletti is asked by Rodney Peete how he views the manner in which the Astros stole signs and cheated.
“It’s a systematic way of cheating the integrity of the game, a winning at all costs attitude. That’s what it was, and it can’t be. It can’t be that way.”
Then, Colletti is asked if baseball can make Houston vacate the 2017 World Series title in his opinion.
“I don’t know if they can or they can’t, but I have known Rob Manfred for a long time. Probably 40-something years. He’s very smart and this falls on him to make the decisions that he made which were unprecedented. I’m not sure what goes into that part of the decision making and whether you strip them of the title. You’ve seen it done in NCAA sports. It’s a very complicated decision, and not one that is easily sorted out.”
It’s good to hear such a passionate baseball man talk about these issues, especially one as near and dear to Dodgers baseball as Colletti is. You can plan on a lot more reactions like Colletti’s here in the days to come. This story isn’t over, it’s only just begun.
God please bring Ned back to the GM position!
Imagine what he’d do with these resources. He always wanted to make the big move under McCourt but couldn’t. He was very close to being able to get Sabbathia which would’ve been huge at the time and taken him away from NY
The McCourts siphoned millions out of the Dodgers. Colleti was there at the wrong time. Had his hands tied
Crimes always make things complicated. Given the soft penalties, MLB is setting themselves up for a LOT MORE COMPLICATIONS, not to mention a credibility level equal to professional wrestling in sports. AT LEAST the 2017 WS should be ruled as follows “Due to the Huston Astros Cheating Practices, there was no WS winner this year.” 2018 TBD depending upon findings. Hinch, Luhnow, and Cora should be banned for life. The $5 Million fine should be changed to $330,000 per regular season game = $60 Million which is the approximate profits the Astros made from the WS Championship. The Cheating Station was set up at the edge of the steps leading to the dugout. EVERY PLAYER KNEW THE CHEATING PLAN was being practiced. NO ONE reported it to the MLB. Therefore, EVERY PLAYER was complicit and an accomplice. Each fielder should be suspended for a minimum of 1/2 season and each pitcher should be suspended for 46 games. THESE punishments would be REAL Deterrents just like the Ban for Betting was. AS OF TODAY, those who weren’t thinking of cheating might be looking into it because it has been shown to be a crime that pays big in the MLB.