Jason Giambi Compares Astros Cheating to Steroid Users

The Houston Astros have very few people that are either firmly in their corner or right in the middle in order to avoid taking a side after their sign-stealing scandal, but former All-Star slugger Jason Giambi has come out and said that he gets why the Astros did what they did.

Giambi hit 440 career home runs, mostly with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, and played until he was 43, but his career was marred after he admitted to steroid use in 2007. Giambi claims that the Astros' actions were simply a byproduct of teams always looking for an advantage.

“It’s no different than the PEDs," Giambi said. "There’s always going to be things going in this game when you’re talking about people making a lot of money and wanting to win.”

Even after new, stricter PED suspensions, players still use them, so there might be a kernel of truth in Giambi's words here. Don't expect anyone involved with the Astros' scandal to feel remorse, however, as Giambi feels perfectly fine after using PEDs in his career.

“I sleep at night great,” Giambi said. “The biggest thing that came out of it is I created a whole new set of fans who first gave me a second chance, but also I don’t know how many parents I run into that say ‘Hey, thank you so much for coming forward where I can tell my children if they make a mistake to tell the truth.'"

Giambi has always had a loose relationship with the truth and the rules of the game so it's no surprise that he is willing to defend the Astros.