Astros' Jim Crane Declines Comment on Sign-Stealing and Gets Whisked Away by Cops at Owners Meetings
By Michael Luciano
The Houston Astros are certainly starting to feel the heat, as it pertains to the ongoing investigation into the depth of their sign-stealing escapades, and owner Jim Crane has finally "spoken"...kinda.
In the lobby at the MLB owners' meetings on Wednesday, Crane made it clear that he only wants to talk about baseball, a clear reference to the desire to avoid discussion of his team's supposed sign-stealing escapade. When nearby cops noticed him tripping into unstable territory, they hurried him away to his next venue, cutting off any and all interesting discourse.
Houston Astros owner Jim Crane just walked through the lobby at the owners’ meetings and said: “If you want to talk about baseball, I’ll talk about baseball. What else do you want to talk about? Any other issues ...” at which point two police officers escorted him away.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 20, 2019
Very good rule of thumb. If an MLB owner is every escorted out of any sort of venue by the police, things aren't particularly going well.
Prior to the incident, Crane was seen sitting by himself, with a sheriff and constable preventing the media from questioning him.
Astros owner Jim Crane is sitting about 30 feet away. We're not allowed to approach him and a sherriff and constable are standing in between the media and the owner. He'll get to decide whether he wants to speak about the cheating investigation. Stay tuned...
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) November 20, 2019
The cops swear they're off duty, but are fully outfitted.
Police told a reporter here that they are off duty. They are in full uniform and armed, however.
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) November 20, 2019
Neat.
If Crane's bizarre and ineffective quotes at the owners' meetings are anything to go by, even the higher-ups around the Astros are beginning to get spooked as off-field controversy dominates their team's headlines.