New York sports fans have never been known to hold back their feelings, and on Tuesday night in the Bronx, their emotions were on full display.
The Houston Astros played in front of fans at Yankee Stadium for the first time since they were found to be stealing signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Astros were outed in 2019 when former pitcher Mike Fiers told “The Athletic” they were using a video camera in the stands to film opposing catchers signs.
The scandal lit the world of Major League Baseball on fire and former Astros manager A.J. Hinch was fired over the blowback. Though no Astros players were suspended, general manager Jeff Luhnow was suspended for one year and eventually fired, and the organization forfeited their first and second round draft picks the following two seasons. Many in baseball felt that the punishment was not harsh enough, as the players who participated in the scandal came away largely unscathed.
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The Astros caught a lucky break last year as the pandemic-shortened season allowed them to play in front of empty stadiums with no fans present to unleash their rage on the cheaters.
The one-year reprieve is over, and this week, Yankees fans released all of their pent up resentment on the Astros.
Houston second baseman Jose Altuve bore the brunt of the heckling in the 7-3 loss to the Yankees. Altuve, the 2017 American League MVP winner, quickly became the face of the sign-stealing scandal, and Yankees fans let him know they hadn’t forgotten the role he played.
Yes, #Yankees fans are yelling what you think they are yelling at #Astros’ Jose Altuve pic.twitter.com/MXG0Y7Z9hD
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) May 4, 2021
The “sellout” socially distanced crowd of 10,850 fans let the Astros have it from the very first pitch.
“The energy that was created, we haven’t seen that since 2019, so it was a fun game to be a part of,” Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said.
“That was intense,” Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton added. “I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of that. They brought some heavy.”
The intensity seemed to get to Altuve, as he went 0-4 with a strikeout at the plate.
“The fans were extremely hard on Altuve tonight,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said after the game. “He’s exerting a lot of effort, maybe too much effort.”
“At least there wasn’t any violence. They can say whatever they want,” Baker continued. “It sounded like a packed house tonight even though it wasn’t. We expected that reception, so we’ll get more of the same tomorrow and the next day.”
The Yankees lost to the Astros in the 2017 American League Championship series before Houston went on to win the World Series. With the Astros being caught stealing signs during the 2017 season, Yankees fans have a right to be angry.
The two teams conclude their three-game series Thursday, and more vitriol from the Bronx-faithful is to be expected.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.