Darvish: Astros should be stripped of 2017 title
Chicago Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish has joined a growing group of players to speak out against the Houston Astros and their sign-stealing scheme.
Darvish, who was on the losing side of the 2017 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, believes Houston's title should be taken away.
"It's like the Olympics," Darvish said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "When a player cheats, you can't have a gold medal, right? But they still have a World Series title. It (feels) weird."
Darvish also took to Twitter to take a shot at the Astros, engaging with a fan Sunday:
The Dodgers acquired Darvish halfway through the 2017 campaign. He played an integral role in the club's run to the Fall Classic, authoring a 3.44 ERA and 3.38 FIP over nine regular-season starts after the trade. Prior to reaching the World Series, he allowed two runs over 11 1/3 innings while striking out 14.
Darvish faltered against the Astros, however, getting shelled for four runs over 1 2/3 innings in Game 3 and then five runs - four earned - over 1 2/3 frames during Game 7. Houston went on to win that final game 5-1, clinching the franchise's first World Series title.
His uncharacteristic performance in the World Series was attributed to Darvish potentially tipping his pitches.
This offseason, Major League Baseball released a report indicating the Astros had engaged in illegal sign-stealing throughout the 2017 season and playoffs as well as a portion of the 2018 campaign. The league formally suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow, and owner Jim Crane subsequently fired the pair.
The report also implicated Carlos Beltran and Alex Cora in the scheme. Both were subsequently dismissed from their respective managerial jobs with the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. An investigation into the Red Sox is ongoing.
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