Baker Mayfield Takes Shot at Houston Astros Sign-Stealing Scandal

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback declared his fandom for one of the Houston Astros' top rivals during the press conference.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield couldn’t resist taking a dig at the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal during his weekly media availability on Wednesday.

Mayfield won his first start for the Bucs when they beat the Minnesota Vikings, 20-17. During the interview he talked about how he was able to decode some of the Vikings’ defensive signals to help him and the Bucs win the game.

Per ESPN, a reporter made a joke that Mayfield should go into the spy game, given that ability. He instead used that as an opening to take a hit at the Astros.

"Listen, I know I'm in Tampa, but I'm a Texas Rangers fan, not a Houston Astros fan, so we're not going to get into that," Mayfield said.

Mayfield was born in Austin and went to high school at Austin Westlake before he walked on at Texas Tech and later transferred to Oklahoma. With the Sooners, he won a Heisman Trophy.

His NFL career hasn’t quite reached that pinnacle. But a 1-0 record with his new team has the Bucs thinking life in the post-Tom Brady era might be a bit easier.

As for the Astros, the franchise still takes hits for the sign-stealing scandal during their 2017 World Series title season.

An MLB investigation revealed that the team stole signs using live video feeds. Once the signs were determined, they were then relayed to the dugout using a system that included the banging of a trash can to signal certain pitches. The Astros used that system for the 2017 regular season and postseason, along with part of the 2018 regular season.

When the scandal came to light, the Astros were ultimately fined $5 million and forced to forfeit their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. In addition, the team’s general manager, Jeff Luhnow, along with manager A.J. Hinch were each suspended for the entire 2020 season.

Since then, the Astros have been to and lost the 2019 and 2021 World Series, and won last year’s World Series for their second overall title.

Mayfield’s comment is oddly timed, as a Frontline documentary on PBS called “The Astros Edge: Triumph and Scandal in Major League Baseball,” is set to premiere on Oct. 3. The date is also the start of the American League and National League Wild Card playoffs series.