Mike Clevinger Rips Astros' Apologies For Stealing Signs

"Why would you need a piece of paper to say sorry for being the biggest piece of s--- in baseball history?" Mike Clevinger asked about the Astros' press conference last week.

Mike Clevinger is calling out the Astros for the weak apologies they made recently in the fallout of the team's sign-stealing scandal. 

While appearing on Barstool Sports' Starting 9, Clevinger said he was dissatisfied with Houston's apparent lack of remorse

"Why would you need a piece of paper to say sorry for being the biggest piece of s--- in baseball history? I don't understand that, but they did. They needed a piece of paper and read it like a robot. First I've ever heard those boys talk about it," he said.

"They just keep on referring to one year when everybody in the right mind knows it was every single year and they just got caught."

Astros owner Jim Crane, third baseman Alex Bregman and second baseman Jose Altuve stumbled their way through another apology during a press conference last week. 

Bregman and Altuve read statements, while Crane contradicted himself during his presser.

"Our opinion is that this didn’t impact the game," he said at one point.

ESPN's Jeff Passan repeated Crane's words back to him and asked him to clarify them.

"I didn't say it didn't impact the game," Crane said.

Clevinger previously addressed Houston's cheating operation in January after MLB released its report on the team's scheme. The Cleveland Indians starter said, "it sucks that we were right," referencing Astros cheating rumors that had been going around baseball before MLB conducted its investigation.

On Jan. 13, commissioner Rob Manfred released a nine-page report detailing how Houston cheated during the 2017-18 regular seasons and postseasons. Manfred suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow through the 2020 World Series, but owner Jim Crane subsequently fired them. MLB discovered Houston used a trash-can banging scheme in 2017 to alert batters of incoming pitches. 

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