Well, now, ain’t this a story that keeps comin’ up over and over again? It’s about that Carlos Correa, you know, the fella who used to play for them Houston Astros, the one who got all tangled up in that whole cheating mess a while back. Folks still talk about it, even though it’s been years now. The whole thing happened back in 2017, but people ain’t lettin’ go of it, and it’s still bringin’ up a lotta bad blood in baseball.
Now, Carlos Correa, he admitted it himself, said he was part of the Astros’ infamous trash can banging system that year. You remember that, don’t ya? How they was hittin’ the trash cans to tell the batters what pitches was comin’? Well, ol’ Correa didn’t try to hide it. He told the reporters he was part of all that, which got ’em in hot water when it came out. All them reporters, and fans, they was madder than a hornet’s nest after that. And rightfully so, I suppose. Ain’t no one likes to feel like they was cheated, especially when it’s somethin’ as big as a World Series championship.
People sure didn’t forget about it. Even in 2023, not long ago, that White Sox pitcher Keynan Middleton, he was still callin’ Correa out. After he struck out Correa, he told the reporters he still thought the man was a cheater, even though it was years since the whole thing came out. Now, I reckon Middleton’s just speakin’ from the heart, probably ’cause he’s feelin’ some kinda way about how the Astros went about things back in 2017. He got a point, though. Ain’t easy to just let go of a thing like that.
What happened in 2017?
Well, to put it simply, them Astros, led by manager A.J. Hinch and a bunch of players like Correa, they got caught usin’ technology to steal signs from the other team. They would use a camera in the outfield to see what signs the catcher was givin’ the pitcher, and then they’d use a trash can to bang out signals to the batter. The idea was to let the batter know what pitch was comin’. And let me tell ya, that ain’t exactly playin’ fair. It was like a big ol’ cheat sheet for every at-bat. Ain’t no wonder they won the World Series that year—it’s like takin’ all the answers to a test before you even sit down!
And after it came out, well, the Astros got punished real bad. They got fined, their manager and general manager got fired, and they lost draft picks. But the players, they didn’t really get hit much. Some folks didn’t think that was fair. After all, it was the players doin’ the cheating, not just the coaches.
What did Correa say?
Now, Carlos Correa, he didn’t try to dodge the blame. He said he was involved in it, and that he understood why folks were mad. But after all that came out in 2019, he tried to defend himself and the team, sayin’ they didn’t do nothin’ wrong after the fact, that they still had the talent to win. He even went on to defend himself during interviews, tryin’ to say how much he’d worked to get to the place he was. He wanted to move on from the whole thing, but some folks just wouldn’t let it go, and I reckon that was hard on him, bein’ constantly reminded of it.
Now, after all that, Correa went on to play for other teams. He spent some time with the Minnesota Twins, and let me tell ya, that boy’s got skill. But injuries started catchin’ up with him, especially with them feet. Them plantar fasciitis problems really slowed him down, and he missed a big chunk of games. That’s gotta be tough for any ballplayer, but when you’re already hurtin’ and you lost a lotta money in the process, it don’t make things easier.
Is Carlos Correa still a cheater?
Well, that’s the million-dollar question, ain’t it? Some folks still think so, especially them White Sox players like Middleton. Others, they say Correa done paid his dues and should be let alone. There’s a lotta people that believe the man’s skills can’t be denied, that even with the scandal hangin’ over his head, he’s still one of the best shortstops in the game. And maybe they got a point. A fella don’t just get to where he is by cheatin’. I reckon he still got some real talent.
But what do I know? I ain’t no baseball expert. I just know that when you get caught up in somethin’ like that, it’s hard to shake it off. Some folks will always remember the good ol’ days, and some will remember the bad. Seems like Carlos Correa will always be tied to that 2017 scandal, no matter how much time passes.
And here we are, still talkin’ about it, still tryin’ to figure out if the man deserves to be forgiven, or if he’ll always carry that cheatin’ tag around with him. Ain’t no simple answer to that one, I reckon. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Tags：[Carlos Correa, cheating scandal, Astros 2017, baseball, MLB, Keynan Middleton, White Sox, trash can banging, World Series, sign stealing]
