After the investigation into the Astros confirmed what’s been suspected for years, the New York Yankees will love nothing more than to kick the snot out of the Astros in 2020. But, through whatever rationale, the Yankees have been cheated (once again) by the Houston Astros.
New Houston Manager Means he’s the All-Star Game Manager?
The Astros signed Dusty Baker to replace the recently sacked AJ Hinch. Signed to a one year deal with a team option for 2021, it seems pretty innocent enough, right? Especially for an older manager (who is out of vogue in baseball these days) who hasn’t managed since 2017.
But… Baker gets what seems an unfair bonus signing with the Astros. Since the Astros were the AL team in the World Series, that team’s manager manages the league they’re in during the All-Star Game. It gives credence to those arguing that MLB really wasn’t interested in punishing the Astros as an organization, but was merely forced to investigate when the story became public in the Athletic.
Unnecessary Drama for a Harmless Exhibition
Since doing away with the silly rule “Whichever league wins the All-Star game, receives home-field advantage during the World Series”, the All-Star game returned to it’s the truest form, an exhibition. But, the Astros were found to have been guilty of cheating… blatantly cheating. It resulted in the Astros manager getting suspended for the entire season.
Why should the Astros manager still manage the All-Star game, when AJ Hinch would have still been serving his suspension during the game? The next obvious managerial candidate for the game is the manager who came in second to the Astros last season, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees.
Baseball has to make up its mind once and for all on the Astros. Are they going to punish the team, or not?