The Houston Astros scandal was based on the revelation that those who were part of the Astros team in Major League Baseball (MLB) wrongfully took the signs of other teams through the use of technology within the 2017 and 2018 season. The MLB conducted an investigation of allegations by other teams for the actions by the Houston Astros team. The investigation resulted in the confirmation that the team used camera systems to steal signs in three earlier seasons (Vigdor, 2020). The general manager of the team, Jeff Luhnow and the field manager A.J. Hinch received suspensions for the 2020 season for their failure to stop the violation of these rules.
One of the rationalizations that the managers of this team may have made was that it would be difficult by the MLB to confirm that they stole the signs. Based on this, these managers would then let the players and team staffers who watched the camera feed to make signals to other members on what steps they should take. This was based on the belief that this use of technology would be hard to track. As the whole team was involved, the team manager may also have rationalized that it would be difficult for MLB to confirm that all members of the team had been involved in the scandal. Another rationalization by the team managers would be that the sanctions by MLB against teams were usually very low and, therefore, the costs of stealing the signs far outweighed the benefits. MLB has a history of providing low sanctions to entire teams during the violation of rules and regulations that had been set. However, in this case, the consequences faced by the team are the greatest that the league has directed against members of the club. These rationalizations then supported the team's willingness to break the rules that had been structured for the game.
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References
Vigdor, N. (2020). The Houston Astros’ Cheating Scandal: Sign-Stealing, Buzzer Intrigue and Tainted Pennants . Nytimes.com. Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/article/astros-cheating.html.
