Page 22 - ARUBA TODAY

A22 SPORTS
Friday 14 February 2020
Sticking to script: Bregman, Astros discuss sign stealing

Continued from Page 17 said. Crane and players Hinch's replacement as
denied that Astros hitters manager, Dusty Baker, in-
And thus the script was set. used buzzers to get infor- sisted earlier Thursday, the
The most eyebrow-raising mation about pitches. players kept -- more hope-
statement came soon The owner repeatedly fully, perhaps, than realisti-
thereafter, when Astros pointed to MLB's report in- cally -- insisting they were
owner Jim Crane replied to stead of directly answering going to talk about this for
a question from a reporter questions and vowed: "This one day and then focus on
by saying: "Our opinion is will never happen again on the new season to come.
that this didn't impact the my watch." The most forthcoming and
game. We had a good A day earlier, the Astros sincere-sounding state-
team. We won the World gathered at their facil- ments came from Correa,
Series. And we'll leave it at ity, barring media from the who said the system was
that." Moments later, Crane grounds, and it was appar- not as effective in the post-
tried to backtrack, saying, ent that they mostly agreed season because opposing
"It's hard to determine how on a unified message. Houston Astros infielder Alex Bregman, left, and teammate catchers were using mul-
it impacted the game, if it The talking points became Jose Altuve sit in chairs as the wait to deliver statements during tiple signs to tell their pitch-
impacted the game." clear Thursday before the a news conference before the start of the first official spring ers what to throw.
MLB Commissioner Rob first official workout of the training baseball practice for the team Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, "We feel bad and we don't
Manfred disciplined the spring as, one by one, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Associated Press want to be remembered as
Astros after he found the the faces of the franchise the team that cheated to
team broke rules by using spoke to the media in the one day. This is going to be batters know what pitches get a championship," Cor-
electronics to steal signs clubhouse: Bregman, sec- an ongoing process, unfor- were coming from oppos- rea said.
during 2017 and 2018. The ond baseman José Altuve, tunately," Nationals reliever ing pitchers. Unlike some of the rhetoric
investigation found the As- shortstop Carlos Correa, Sean Doolittle said. "This is Like Crane, they refrained being offered all around
tros used the video feed outfielder Josh Reddick, something that all of base- from offering any sort of him, Correa used the most
from a center field camera pitchers Justin Verlander ball has to reckon with, and apologies to teams or play- basic language to deliver
to view and decode op- and Lance McCullers. we're all still trying to come ers they had beaten in an apology that actually
posing catchers' signs. Play- The Astros share a Florida to grips with it and process 2017, specifically the New sounded very much like an
ers banged on a trash can complex with the team it. So it might take a bit." York Yankees in the AL apology and express re-
to signal to batters what they lost to in last year's Bregman's clubhouse ses- championship series and morse that actually sound-
was coming, believing it World Series, the Washing- sion lasted 10 minutes and the Los Angeles Dodgers in ed rather remorseful.
would improve chances of ton Nationals, and this time, he stuck to his message. So, the World Series. "What we did in '17 was
getting a hit. it was the runners-up that generally, did the others. "I don't think we feel the wrong. ... It's not how we
Manager AJ Hinch and drew a lot more attention Bregman, for example, need to reach out to those want to be remembered,"
GM Jeff Luhnow were giv- than the champs as both used words like "apologiz- guys," Reddick said, "or Correa said. "I'm going to
en one-year suspensions teams' camps opened. ing" and "remorse," but anybody for that matter." be honest with you: When
by Manfred; Crane then "In the long run, some of their made no mention of "signs" When asked, inevitably, we first started doing it, it
quickly fired both. MLB did actions will speak louder or "stealing" or "cheating." whether their 2017 title was almost felt like it was an
not punish any players for than words and being sorry Some, such as Verlander, tainted, they tended to advantage. ... But it was
the cheating and Crane that you got caught and said they wished they had use a variation of, "People definitely wrong. It was
said he stood by that. being sorry for what you "said more" at the time to have their own opinions," definitely wrong and we
"We're not going to do any- did are two different things. dissuade the use of the il- as Correa did. should have stopped it at
thing to the players," he It's not going to go away in legal system that helped Much like Crane and the time."q
NASCAR signs Verizon to upgrade wireless, wifi at 12 tracks

By JENNA FRYER Verizon will work with NAS- wireless infrastructure" and
AP Auto Racing Writer CAR to upgrade in-venue the fan feedback proved
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) wireless communication it was a worthy investment.
— NASCAR announced a service over the next three "All of us in a normal dai-
deal with Verizon on Thurs- years. Verizon becomes ly course of life use our
day intended to give fans the official wireless and phones all day and when
at its 12 racetracks better 5G partner for the stock you don't have the wire-
access for their phones car racing series and the less access, the fan expe-
and solve a long-simmer- wi-fi partner at the 12 rience did suffer," Neeb
ing headache over dead tracks, which host 19 of said. "Unlike NBA or anoth-
zones at the sprawling the 36 Cup Series races: er sport, a NASCAR venue
venues. Auto Club Speedway in is a humongous infrastruc-
The deal will improve con- Fontana (Calif.); Chica- Ryan Newman (6) and Brad Keselowski, front left, lead the ture, it takes a lot to get it
nectivity at the 12 tracks gloand in Joliet (Ill.); Dar- field to start the NASCAR Busch Clash auto race at Daytona right," said Vickie Lonker,
owned by NASCAR — a lington (S.C.); Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, in Daytona vice president of product
problem fans have com- (Fla.); Homestead-Miami; Beach, Fla. management at Verizon
plained about for years. Kansas (Kan.); Martinsville Associated Press Business. Neeb said NAS-
Even when the top Cup (Va.); Michigan (Brooklyn, Series races. It will be up not disclose the cost of the CAR is the first track op-
Series was sponsored first Mich.); ISM Raceway near to their promoters to de- project. He said a reno- erator to take the step but
by Nextel and then Sprint, Phoenix; Richmond (Va.), cide if a similar upgrade vation completed prior hopes others will follow.
cellular service was spotty Talladega (Ala.) and Wat- will be taken. Craig Neeb, to last season at Phoenix "We felt we could lead on
and often only available kins Glen (N.Y.). executive vice president Raceway included a "full this effort and if we can
to customers of those spe- Eleven tracks not owned and chief innovation of- investment not only from a pave the way for others,
cific carriers. by NASCAR also host Cup ficer for NASCAR, would cellular standpoint but the even better," he said.q