Cheated
The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
“A baseball book that reads like a spy novel—a story about cheaters and the cheated that has the power to forever change how we feel about the game.” —Brian Williams, MSNBC anchor and host of The 11th Hour
The definitive insider story of one of the biggest cheating scandals to ever rock Major League Baseball, bringing down high-profile coaches and players, and exposing a long-rumored "sign-stealing" dark side of baseball
The ensuing scandal rivaled that of the 1919 "Black Sox" and the more recent steroid era, and became one of the most significant that the game had ever seen. The fallout ensnared many other teams, either as victims, alleged cheaters or both. The Los Angeles Dodgers felt robbed of a World Series title, and fended off accusations about their organization. Same for the New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox were soon under investigation themselves. The New York Mets lost a promising manager before he ever managed a game.
Andy Martino, an award-winning journalist who has covered Major League Baseball for more than a decade, has broken numerous stories about the Astros and sign-stealing in baseball. In Cheated, Martino takes readers behind the scenes and into the heart of the events that shocked the baseball world. With inside access to the people directly involved, Martino breaks down not only exactly what happened and when, but reveals the fascinating explanations of why it all came about. The nuance and detail of the scandal reads like a true sports whodunnit. How did otherwise good people like Astros' manager A.J. Hinch, bench coach Alex Cora and veteran leader Carlos Beltran find themselves on the wrong side of clear ethical lines? And did they even know when those lines had been crossed? Cheated is an explosive, electrifying read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Martino draws from more than 100 interviews, primarily with eyewitnesses and participants, to provide a detailed account of the scandal that tainted the Houston Astros' 2017 World Series victory. The extent that the team went to steal signals from their opponents stunned Major League Baseball, and Martino puts the Astros' schemes in perspective by illuminating the lengthy history of sign stealing, going as far back as 1900. Over the next century, the sport distinguished between tells that players could observe on their own and teams' use of artificial methods, such as electronic sign stealing through hidden cameras, which were banned. In the late 2010s, the Astros employed both low-tech means, such as banging on garbage can lids, and advanced ones, including cameras that sent real-time signals to players in the batter's box. The cheating was suspected for a while, but only became public knowledge after a former Astros pitcher leaked the news to a reporter. The ensuing uproar led to an investigation by MLB, which confirmed widespread cheating, resulting in the suspension of the Astros' manager and general manager. Martino makes the story accessible to casual fans, with enough detail to sate diehard fans of the sport. This account serves as a nice addition to the growing canon of books about sports scandals.
