Clayton Kershaw Calls Out Astros Owner Jim Crane for Lame Apology Over Sign Stealing
By Scott Rogust
The Houston Astros not only made themselves the enemies of the other 29 fan bases, but with their big league colleagues as well. That all happened once team owner Jim Crane displayed a total lack of accountability, boisterously saying the illegal electronic sign-stealing didn't have an impact on the game.
Cody Bellinger sent shockwaves throughout the nation for verbally eviscerating the Astros organization. However, he wasn't the only member of the Los Angeles Dodgers to do so.
When speaking with the media on Friday, ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw ripped Crane for "saying some dumb stuff" and being "ignorant to the situation."
Clayton Kershaw on the #Astros: "Some of those guys said the right things, gave a good apology. And that's great. I'll move on with that. And then you get the owner up there saying some dumb stuff and it's like, 'What's going on? How can you be that ignorant to the situation?'"
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) February 14, 2020
No lies detected here.
Kershaw had been critical of Astros players showing zero remorse once they were found guilty of cheating back in January. After Thursday's debacle, the Dodgers No. 1 starter did give credit to some of Houston's players for giving a "good apology."
Regardless of what the players said, the sticking point of the whole press conference was Crane's completely tone-deaf comments. Crane said the team was sorry for "breaking the rules" not for cheating. Then, he claims sign-stealing by illegal means doesn't have a negative effect on the game, before declaring that the Astros won the 2017 World Series fair and square.
"So then what are you guys apologizing for?"
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 13, 2020
"We're apologizing because we broke the rules."
Astros owner Jim Crane and @MarlyRiveraESPN went back and forth during the team's news conference. pic.twitter.com/2hdR1sFGcd
They didn't.
The benefit of the doubt is no longer on the table for the Astros. No matter how sorry the players are, they can thank their owner for getting 99 mph under the chin throughout the 2020 season.