VIDEO: Jose Altuve Appears to Say He's 'Got a Piece on' in Suspicious Home Run Clip
By Evan Wolff
Just when you think further evidence couldn't be provided in regards to the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, there appears to be another instance of cheating caught on camera, and this one is pretty damning. Jose Altuve, who hit the walk-off home run in Game 6 of the ALCS off Aroldis Chapman, appeared to mouth the phrase "I got a piece on" to his teammates before being mobbed at home plate.
I'm no professional lip reader, but I think it's pretty clear what Altuve is saying here.
— Unhinged Yankees (@UnhingedYankees) January 16, 2020
"I got a piece on... No." pic.twitter.com/7z5gCnWgW2
The "piece" he's referring to? Well, naturally, baseball fans immediately flocked to the idea that he was referencing a buzzer under his jersey.
Another lip-reader suggested Altuve could have been saying "la camisa" in the now-viral clip, which translates to "the shirt" in Spanish.
It seems to me like he's saying in Spanish "La camisa no, la camisa no" which translates to "Not the shirt, not the shirt"
— Guillermo Terrazas (@didntgetthemem0) January 16, 2020
Regardless of what he was saying to his teammates, he seemed awfully concerned with his jersey while running towards the mob of celebrating players.
Maybe we are all being hyper-speculative, and this is a non-story that everyone is over-reacting to. However, it cannot be denied how suspicious this looks, especially knowing what we know now about the tactics the Astros like to employ.