Future Hall of Famer Takes Another Shot at Houston Astros For Cheating Scandal

It sounds like a future Hall of Famer is still holding a grudge against the Houston Astros.

Aug 30, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) reacts between the inning in the dugout during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field / Allan Henry-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are currently experiencing something they haven't in seven years; watching the Championship Series instead of playing in it.

At some point, their American League record streak was going to end, but after they went over the luxury tax threshold for only the second time since Jim Crane bought the franchise, the expectation was this group would reach the World Series again.

That didn't happen, though, and the Astros have to figure out how they are going to handle things financially this winter so they can get back into contention.

One team who was able to make a deep run after a big offseason of their own is the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They finally broke through in 2020 by winning their first World Series since 1988. That came on the heels of them losing two straight Fall Classics in 2017 and 2018, with the first being against Houston when they secured their franchise's first ever championship.

However, it later came out the Astros were involved in the cheating scandal that rocked the baseball world and tarnished much of what went on during that era, and since the Dodgers feel like they were directly impacted by what went on, many of their players were the most outspoken against anything related to Houston.

Things calmed down a bit in the subsequent years, especially when the Astros won in 2022 with a different front office and manager in charge.

But, it doesn't sound like future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is ready to move on just yet.

When asked about the best one-two punches in a lineup in baseball history, he told Jayson Stark of The Athletic, "I'm trying to think of teams that I pitched against. Like the best teams. I mean, leadoff-wise, (Jose) Altuve and (Alex) Bregman were good (in Houston). But they cheated, so that's not really the same."

Shots fired.

That shouldn't be too surprising since he's always been one of the most vocal in sharing his negative thoughts about Houston.

Still, it's interesting to see just how much the Astros are on the forefront of Kershaw's mind.