via Getty
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 23: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros in game four of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 23, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
via Getty
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 23: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros in game four of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 23, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
LeBron James and Aaron Judge are two of the biggest names in sports right now. James is an NBA star and legend who has won everything humanly possible when talking about basketball. Judge, on the other hand, is a baseball superstar who has captured the hearts of fans with his powerful hitting. Both James and Judge are among the top stars in their respective sports.
Furthermore, they have both gained the respect of their fans and competitors alike. But in 2020, both sporting stars were left shocked and unhappy with the resolution to a major MLB scandal.
LeBron James and Aaron Judge were unhappy with the resolution to the Houston Astros 2017 scandal
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In 2019, The Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal came to light. It was revealed that in 2017, the year they won the World Series, the Astros had stolen signs during games. They would record the opposing catcher’s signs for a pitch and use a trash can to signal to their batter. But despite having cheated to win the 2017 World Series, they were allowed to keep the title. In 2020, Aaron Judge and LeBron James commented on the situation and were unhappy. SportsNet New York shared the video of Judge’s comment on Twitter.
Aaron Judge says the Astros should be stripped of their 2017 World Series title:
"It doesn't hold any value, it wasn't earned" pic.twitter.com/adbZDYEPlq
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 18, 2020
In the video, Judge said, “You cheated and you didn’t earn it. That’s how I feel. It wasn’t earned. It wasn’t earned the way of playing the game right and fighting to the end and knowing that we’re competing, we’re competitors. The biggest thing about competition is laying it all out on the line, and whoever is the better player, better person comes out on top. To know that another team had an advantage that, nothing you can really guard against, I just don’t feel like that’s earned.”
James commented on the issue via Twitter. In one Tweet, he said, “Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do!”
Many sports stars and baseball fans were left unhappy with the punishment given to the Astros. They expected the 2017 World Series title to have been taken away at the least. But the organization did face punishment.
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The Astros were punished after the scandal came to light
After the sign-stealing scandal was revealed, the Houston Astros were punished. They were fined $5 million, the highest amount possible, and their 2020 and 2021 first and second-round draft picks were taken away. Furthermore, General manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch were suspended for the entire 2020 MLB season.
Watch this story: Is Aaron Judge’s $360 million deal the biggest New York Yankees contract of all time?
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Players did not face any punishment, due to the sheer number involved and their cooperation in the investigation. But they did face public disdain and scrutiny.
What do you think of Aaron Judge and LeBron James’ reactions to the scandal? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
