THE Los Angeles Dodgers might consider the Houston Astros frauds and cheaters, but they want nothing to do with hanging a “fake banner” to represent a championship they did not win on the field.
After silence the past few weeks, Dodgers players and front-office staff sounded off on the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal from the 2017 season at the club’s annual fan convention on Saturday.
The Dodgers not only lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros, they also lost the championship series in 2018 to the Boston Red Sox, who also are under investigation for stealing opponents’ signs electronically, a violation of baseball rules.
“We don’t want a trophy,” Dodgers veteran Justin Turner told reporters. “We don’t want a fake banner hanging in our stadium. We didn’t earn that. We didn’t catch that final out to win a championship.”
—If the words of Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and National League Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso mean anything, the New York Mets ultimately made the right choice by hiring Luis Rojas as manager.
“Now we have Luis (Rojas) and I think we’re looking forward to that,” right-handed ace deGrom said Saturday at the Mets Fan Fest at Citi Field. “I had him in the minor leagues. Great guy, great manager. And last year being up here, fun to be around, communicates well with everybody, so we’re excited about that.”
Rojas, who was the team’s quality control coach last year, was hired to be the Mets’ new manager on Thursday, replacing Carlos Beltran, who lost his job in the wake of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
“I think the stuff that happened with Carlos is very unfortunate,” said Alonso, who also appeared at the fan convention on Saturday. “He’s very knowledgeable about the game, but I think Luis is gonna do an absolutely excellent job.’’
