I was this years old when I first ever read about a commissioner in any sport admitting he made a mistake.

Hey Rob, cheer up. I can assure you that on your list of bad decisions, this doesn't even crack the Top 10.

Doesn't crack the Top 100 either

Or the Top 1000.

Hey Rob, cheer up. I can assure you that on your list of bad decisions, this doesn't even crack the Top 10.

I just turned off SportsCenter when their teaser going into commercial was who I should be betting on to hit a home run today.

I don't think it was a mistake to grant immunity. The players would have clammed up and/or 100% blamed Mgmt. We'd probably think it was all Hinch and the front office forcing into the players into it. It would have further poisoned the union relationship going into talks.

I'm glad we actually know what happened which only came from granting immunity. The mistake was not taking the trophy away and not making clear that they would take trophies away in the future.

I will gladly trade the 12-team playoffs and the ghost runner for taking immunity away from the players.

And I'm an Astros fan.

I'm glad we actually know what happened which only came from granting immunity.

That's not true, as explained in TFA and Drellich's book. He and Rosenthal had already published their reporting, which had Mike Fiers on record with most of the substance of what happened.

Depends on the definition of “immunity”. I was completely okay with the guilty players not being suspended or fined if that’s what it took to get the whole truth. What I was not okay with was the Astros organization keeping their titles, and the players keeping their rings.

To whatever degree the Mitchell Report drew any information from something other than law enforcement or journalists, they mostly got it from the teams. That allowed some degree of immunity for the teams, and blame to the players. I have no problem with the shoe being on the other foot this time around, considering the facts of the case. It was far better for the health of the sport to punish a cheating franchise than to punish cheating players, and the way to get it was to give the players immunity.

Possibly the best thing Manfred has done in his tenure is to root out cheating and unsportsmanlike behavior. He certainly hasn't gotten rid of all of it, but he's been pretty good at making changes to make the sport less laughable.

Nothing in Manfred's decisions regarding the Astros comes close to the absurdity of the ghost runner extra inning crap. Expanding the playoffs was terrible, too.

The idea of taking the trophy away is absurd. Which of the other cheating teams gets the trophy? I could see suspensions for Houston players, if MLB could determine who was using the system and who wasn't, but should the hundreds of other players doing the same thing (maybe more effectively) get a pass just because their team didn't have a Mike Fiers spill the beans?

I think Manfred had to give the appearance of dealing with the problem without bringing disrepute to the whole league by getting to the bottom of how widespread the problem was. In the end his decision was fair; Houston lost their GM, manager, and four high draft picks they now sorely miss. And of course the taint of the scandal sticks to the franchise and some of the players. And fans were able to have a villain to blame. Not a bad outcome, actually.

8. Sure the reporters broke the story but the detailed analysis that is in MLBs document would not have happened without the players cooperating. As to taking the title away, I don't mean giving it to someone, I just mean taking it away. Erasing it, not allowing the org to claim they were world champions etc. that's what I would have done

As to "everyone else was doing it", the timeline suggests otherwise. Anyone who was doing illegal things stopped as the behest of MLB. The Astros didn't. And no one was doing what Houston was doing. This is a common steroid argument too but decades later we really only have a relatively small group of people on the steroid list

The idea of taking the trophy away is absurd. Which of the other cheating teams gets the trophy? I could see suspensions for Houston players, if MLB could determine who was using the system and who wasn't, but should the hundreds of other players doing the same thing (maybe more effectively) get a pass just because their team didn't have a Mike Fiers spill the beans?

I think Manfred had to give the appearance of dealing with the problem without bringing disrepute to the whole league by getting to the bottom of how widespread the problem was. In the end his decision was fair; Houston lost their GM, manager, and four high draft picks they now sorely miss. And of course the taint of the scandal sticks to the franchise and some of the players. And fans were able to have a villain to blame. Not a bad outcome, actually.

I generally agree. The Astros, as an organization, paid a hefty price for their shenanigans. The idea of "taking the championship away" unduly penalizes the fans, who were not in on the scheme.

That's the way I would deal with NCAA violations, as well. Don't vacate the titles, don't take away trophies -- but take away any *financial* benefit from cheating. All the championship merch you sell? The revenues go to the league, or to a charity. Gate receipts, TV revenues? Not for you anymore. I frankly think that would disincentivize cheating, at any level, far more effectively than anything else.

As to taking the title away, I don't mean giving it to someone, I just mean taking it away. Erasing it, not allowing the org to claim they were world champions etc. that's what I would have done

I am soooo against vacating titles.

Like, if somehow the Astros spent the whole World Series in Bermuda while their holographic images won the World Series on their behalf, sure, vacate the title. Those hypothetical Astros didn't play the games. But the actual Astros played, and won.

People always mention the rings but I'm not sure what they expect. Jim Crane is going to reposses them and melt them down?

And no one was doing what Houston was doing.

Which means they were probably smarter than Houston, because what Houston was doing (banging a trash can) was easily caught onto by other teams and countered. I mean, seriously, it would take about one inning for the opposing catcher, pitcher and first baseman to know what was happening. Teams aren't stupid, and they know other teams are always trying to gain an advantage. It was an idiotic method of cheating that clearly didn't help the team much as they hit much better on the road in 2017 than at home. And I'll take the word of other players and GMs who seemed to think that other teams didn't stop. There is no evidence that what Houston did helped them in the post-season. I'm not defending the cheating, and I think the punishment (losing your GM and manager, and four high draft picks) was appropriate, but if other teams had a Mike Fiers we would be talking about the same thing with those teams.

Which means they were probably smarter than Houston

Well NY and Boston got caught cheating with iPads, so maybe not....

People always mention the rings but I'm not sure what they expect. Jim Crane is going to reposses them and melt them down?

Nobody means the physical rings. They mean that when Jose Altuve is mentioned, they want him to be "Jose Altuve, one time world champion" instead of "Jose Altuve, two time world champion".

Nothing in Manfred's decisions regarding the Astros comes close to the absurdity of the ghost runner extra inning crap. Expanding the playoffs was terrible, too.

All the other decisions Manfred has made pale in godawfulness compared to partnering baseball with gambling promoters. What makes it even more nauseating are those afterthought add-ons with an 800 number to call "if you have a gambling problem".

"I’m not going to punish anybody, but invading Russia was maybe not my best decision ever,” said Herr Hitler in a wide-ranging interview with Hell Today magazine.

"I’m not going to punish anybody, but invading Russia was maybe not my best decision ever,” said Herr Hitler in a wide-ranging interview with Hell Today magazine.

Alas, Manfred was not good in the beginning.

The idea of "taking the championship away" unduly penalizes the fans, who were not in on the scheme.

Huh? Nobody's coming for your t-shirt.

Huh? Nobody's coming for your t-shirt.

Joe in post 9 is, indicating it's not just shoes he's lacking.

Smitty* is coming for everyone's pants.

"I’m not going to punish anybody, but invading Russia was maybe not my best decision ever,” said Herr Hitler in a wide-ranging interview with Hell Today magazine

Putin: Hold my beer.

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I generally agree. The Astros, as an organization, paid a hefty price for their shenanigans. The idea of "taking the championship away" unduly penalizes the fans, who were not in on the scheme.

That's the way I would deal with NCAA violations, as well. Don't vacate the titles, don't take away trophies -- but take away any *financial* benefit from cheating. All the championship merch you sell? The revenues go to the league, or to a charity. Gate receipts, TV revenues? Not for you anymore. I frankly think that would disincentivize cheating, at any level, far more effectively than anything else.

The way the NCAA does it, "vacating titles" is funny to me. It's like telling me, hey, remember all that fun you had a few years ago watching your team win? Yeah, that didn't happen.

Taking away the financial benefits of the win actually would hurt the fans more. Take away a bunch of money and Houston can't field as competitive team in the present. Which, I'm cool with (as an addition to vacating the title)

But the NCAA also suspends teams, sometimes for long periods. Does that make any more sense?

And #### Manfred. He's a tool and these self serving aholes always making these sorts of statements after the fact.