New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge is brutally honest when he talks about the Houston Astros cheating their way to a World Series.
Major League Baseball is still dealing with the fallout of the Houston Astros’ rampant and unabashed cheating in 2017. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is the latest star to skewer the Astros.
Aaron Judge says the Astros should be stripped of their 2017 World Series title:
"It doesn't hold any value, it wasn't earned" pic.twitter.com/adbZDYEPlq
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 18, 2020
“Yeah, I just don’t think it holds any value,” Judge said of whether the Astros should be stripped of their 2017 World Series title. “You cheated and you didn’t earn it. That’s how I feel, it wasn’t earned. It wasn’t earned in the way of playing the game right and fighting to the end. Knowing that we’re competing, we’re competitors.
“The biggest thing about competition is laying it all out on the line and whoever is the better player, better person comes out on top. You just lay it out there and to know that another team had an advantage that is nothing you can really guard against. I just don’t feel like that’s earned.”
Judge’s feelings on the Astros are common among players, fans, and media alike. Even if commissioner Rob Manfred won’t strip Houston of its 2017 World Series title, that championship is tainted beyond recognition.
Judge is hardly the first superstar to come out and eviscerate the Astros. Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout are just a few of the guys who have laced into Houston.
The fact that the players who benefitted most from the cheating have shown absolutely no contrition or remorse is making it difficult for other players to move past the scandal. Add in the fact that many players, including Gleyber Torres, believe the Astros were still cheating in 2018 and 2019 and it’s clear that this story is not going away anytime soon.
The Yankees and Astros will play two series in 2020. New York will travel to Houston in May before hosting the Astros in the Bronx in September. It’s safe to say that Yankee Stadium will be a madhouse when fans finally have their chance to boo the unapologetic Astros.