Yankees General Manager Says Houston Astros Cheating Scandal Reason For World Series Drought

It appears that New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman isn’t completely over the Houston Astros cheating scandal that rocked Major League Baseball, and potentially kept the Yankees out of the 2017 World Series. 

“The only thing that stopped [us] was something that was so illegal and horrific,” Cashman told The Athletic in an interview. “So I get offended when I start hearing we haven’t been to the World Series since ’09. Because I’m like, ‘Well, I think we actually did it the right way.’ Pulled it down, brought it back up. Drafted well, traded well, developed well, signed well. The only thing that derailed us was a cheating circumstance that threw us off.”

Houston was found to have used cameras in order to steal opposing pitchers’ signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, winning the 2017 World Series in the process. Houston defeated the Yankees in seven games in the 2017 American League Championship Series. 

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. Houston was also allowed to keep its 2017 World Series trophy. 

It was the closest the Yankees have been to the World Series since 2009, when New York defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for their 27th World Series title. It’s been a frustrating few years for the Yankees, who most recently were bounced in the 2021 American League Wild Card by the Boston Red Sox. 

The current roster stacked with power hitters has failed to perform when it matters the most, and their newest ace — Gerrit Cole — had an awful finish to the 2021 regular season, ending the year with a 6.15 ERA in his last five starts. With that said, it’s not like the Yankees have been basement dwellers as of late. 

They’ve reached the playoffs every year since 2017, winning more than 100 games in 2018 and 2019. 

“It does bother me when people say we haven’t been to the World Series since ’09,” Cashman continued. “We did it all right, by building it to a certain level that could have gotten us to a World Series — if not for something else. But hey! We’re back at it. Every year, we’re still back at it. We’ve been qualifying for the postseason, and we’re going to take this team as far as we can get it, and hopefully we can push through.”

But Yankees fans don’t accept mediocrity, as calls for a regime change have grown over the past several years. 

“The fans, they’re fanatics for a reason,” Cashman said. “They don’t really care about how it all adds up. They just want to be the last team standing. As do we. But my job, and our front office’s job, is to find a way within the current restrictions that we have, and the options that are available: ‘OK, what can we come up with that solves these problems, as fast as possible?’”

New York opens the 2022 regular season with a three-game series at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox.

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].

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