Swing and a miss.
In the wake of the Astros’ cheating scandal, Houston’s star third baseman Alex Bregman is on the cover of Eastbay’s February catalog, featuring the ironic message: “Always earned, never given.”
Last month, Major League Baseball suspended since-fired Astros manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for one year after a league investigation concluded the Astros illegally stole signs using electronic means during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, a scheme which involved a camera system and banging on a garbage can to relay signs to hitters.
When Bregman was asked on Jan. 18 about the sign-stealing scandal, he did not express any remorse.
“The commissioner and league came out with the report and the Astros did what they did,” Bregman said at the time. “They made their decision on what to do and I have no thoughts on it.”
Bregman also denied that day the Twitter rumor in regards to Astros players wearing devices under their jerseys as part of the scheme, calling the allegation “stupid.”
The catalog cover was predictably criticized on Twitter. Nationals closer Sean Doolittle responded to a tweet about the catalog with a gif of a guy drinking water and spitting it out.