Former New York Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin tipped the ballclub off regarding the Houston Astros’ cheating ways last season.
Heading into the 2020 campaign, arguably the biggest story in baseball is the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. The organization, despite parting ways with manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, is facing significant backlash. Not many individuals in and around the sport are portraying happiness, to say the least.
But what’s interesting is that their cheating ways were known before the original bombshell report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich. Plenty of players had an idea of what was going on, and this includes former New York Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin. In a conversation with Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Maybin actually noted that he tipped the Bombers off prior to last year’s ALCS.
“Going into a tough series, [the Yankees teammates] were my brothers,” he said. “There was a conversation had about possibilities that I’ll keep between those guys…I’ll be more than willing to be open with my brothers that are going to be here, like I have in the past. Things stay between me and whatever team I played with.”
When asked if he let them know about Houston’s cheating, Maybin responded, “We had a conversation, and I’ll keep that conversation between them. But…a little heads up.”
The Yanks, of course, lost that playoff series in six games to what was eventually the World Series runner-up Astros. There’s speculation that Houston additionally cheated during that series by using buzzers hidden underneath their jerseys.
Maybin signed a minor-league deal with the Detroit Tigers in February.
