When the truth was exposed over the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal, the aftershocks extended to every corner of major league baseball. For the New York Yankees, who have been in the middle of all of it, have taken it as personally as anyone.
Starting pitcher Luis Severino, who spent countless hours perfecting his cover-up and ensuring he wasn’t tipping pitches in front of a mirror, opened up about the emotional conundrum he faced after learning the truth. The truth that the Astros has been cheating their way through the postseason and using illegal equipment to gain an edge.
“I was mad at the beginning because there’s a lot of things that go through your mind when you’re pitching against a team that good,†Severino said Wednesday, when Yankees pitchers and catchers reported to spring training.
“Sometimes, you’re thinking about, I’m tipping! What am I doing? You spend hours in the video room looking at yourself saying what am I doing and then hearing that was the problem, I wasn’t tipping. Or if I was tipping, that wasn’t the problem.â€
The New York Yankees have blown the doors off their time under wraps:
Several players and coached have expressed their frustration towards the ethical-destruction of the beautiful game, and the Astros being able to hold onto their World Series victory is at the peak of it all.
For starting pitchers, working on their craft and focusing on the minor details takes an extensive amount of time, and for a team to cheat around their hard work is hugely demoralizing. Knowing what might have happened if the Yankees were given a fair chance is the most challenging part of it all.
While MLB investigators didn’t find any evidence supporting further claims of buzzers, they found enough to justify the punishments that were dished out.
“Like a lot of players said, they did the investigation, and they didn’t find anything,†Severino said, “but the only thing that I’m sure of is that they were using cameras and stuff. About the buzzers, I’m not sure.â€