Cheated: The Inside Story of a Scandal That Shocked America and Changed Baseball Forever
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- Author：Andy Martino
- ISBN：0385546793
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Summary
The definitive insider story of the cheating scandal that rocked Major League Baseball in 2019， bringing down high-profile coaches and players， and exposing a long-rumored "sign-stealing" dark side of baseball。
By the fall of 2019， most teams around Major League Baseball suspected that the Houston Astros has been "stealing signs" for several years。 The Astros had come out of nowhere to win the 2017 World Series， and pitchers and coaches felt as though the Astros batters always knew exactly which pitch was coming their way。 In a scandal that rivals other legendary baseball scandals， news finally broke that the Astros were using new high-definition ballpark technology （a camera installed in center field， transmitting the opposing catcher's sign calls back to the Astros' dugout， where a coach was interpreting the signs and either whistling in code or banging on a dugout garbage can to alert their batters which pitch was about to be thrown）。 In time， several other teams--the Red Sox， Yankees， Dodgers and Mets--were suspected of doing similar things in the spirit of， "if you can't beat em， join em，" and baseball had suffered a serious black eye。
Andy Martino， a respected lead sports analyst on SNY television network， and author of "SNY MLB Insider，" takes readers to the heart of these events。 From top Astros coaches and players， to prominent contacts on the Yankees， Red Sox and others， Martino is on-and-off the record with everyone involved。 He breaks down not only what happened and when， but gets the fascinating explanations of why this came about， and how many of the people involved believed they were seeking competitive advantages that， while not expressly legal， were not illegal at the time。 The nuance and detail of this scandal is its most fascinating piece--and Andy Martino is the guy who has the real and whole story。 Cheated is an electrifying read。
By the fall of 2019， most teams around Major League Baseball suspected that the Houston Astros has been "stealing signs" for several years。 The Astros had come out of nowhere to win the 2017 World Series， and pitchers and coaches felt as though the Astros batters always knew exactly which pitch was coming their way。 In a scandal that rivals other legendary baseball scandals， news finally broke that the Astros were using new high-definition ballpark technology （a camera installed in center field， transmitting the opposing catcher's sign calls back to the Astros' dugout， where a coach was interpreting the signs and either whistling in code or banging on a dugout garbage can to alert their batters which pitch was about to be thrown）。 In time， several other teams--the Red Sox， Yankees， Dodgers and Mets--were suspected of doing similar things in the spirit of， "if you can't beat em， join em，" and baseball had suffered a serious black eye。
Andy Martino， a respected lead sports analyst on SNY television network， and author of "SNY MLB Insider，" takes readers to the heart of these events。 From top Astros coaches and players， to prominent contacts on the Yankees， Red Sox and others， Martino is on-and-off the record with everyone involved。 He breaks down not only what happened and when， but gets the fascinating explanations of why this came about， and how many of the people involved believed they were seeking competitive advantages that， while not expressly legal， were not illegal at the time。 The nuance and detail of this scandal is its most fascinating piece--and Andy Martino is the guy who has the real and whole story。 Cheated is an electrifying read。
Reviews
Alan Correnti
，
As a die hard baseball fan and an avid listener of sports talk radio， this book， while well-written and informative， provided little new information on the topic。 To the casual fan， it will open up a whole new perspective on the minutia of baseball。 To the die hard， it just confirms what is already known。
Mary E
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Really Interesting。
Ken Heard
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This began as a book chronicling the history of cheating in baseball， mentioning the 1951 Bobby Thomson home run aided by sign-stealing efforts and included earlier cases， including one from the turn of the century and a brief mention of the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal。It then evolved into the Houston Astros' Codebreaker saga。 Andy Martino does a good job of setting the stage， complete with the hiring of manager A。J。 Hinch and the acquisition of players who later were involved heavily in the This began as a book chronicling the history of cheating in baseball， mentioning the 1951 Bobby Thomson home run aided by sign-stealing efforts and included earlier cases， including one from the turn of the century and a brief mention of the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal。It then evolved into the Houston Astros' Codebreaker saga。 Andy Martino does a good job of setting the stage， complete with the hiring of manager A。J。 Hinch and the acquisition of players who later were involved heavily in the cheating issue。 He does， as one reviewer mentioned on Goodreads， seem to write reverentially about the New York Yankees and that is a tad distracting。 He also makes quick references to baseball occurrences that， unless you're a fan of baseball history， won't immediately get。 He mentions Carlos Beltran's called strike three against the Cardinals' pitcher Adam Wainwright to end the 2006 National League Championship Series。 He doesn't explain the context and I only got it because I remembered it。 He also somehow has the Astros playing 170 games one season; he lists their record at 59-111。 Maybe it's a typo only， but you have to question other research if something like that slips by。We all heard of the cheating and the trash can banging that the Astros used to signal pitches， and I remembered when Jose Altruve didn't want his shirt taken off after hitting a game-winning home run in Game 6 of the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers。 Was he wearing a buzzer？ He said it was an unfinished tattoo。 I thought Martino explained that episode well and brought all of it together。 Overall， I thought this was a great look at the accusations of the Astros cheating ways。 Sure， all teams probably cheat some way with sign stealing。 This book shows in depth how Houston did it and how the baseball commissioner Rob Manfred continued to prove he is inept in all things baseball。 。。。more
Nicholas
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As a Dodger fan I didn’t think it was possible to hate the Astros any more than I already did but this wonderfully reported and written book really showed what a terrible organization Houston was。 A captivating， yet infuriating， read！
Allen Adams
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Ever since the early days of baseball， there have been those who seek to gain a competitive advantage through various forms of chicanery。 And while there are certainly rules regarding the way in which the game is played and the conduct maintained while playing it， players have always pushed the envelope， seeking to come as close to the line as possible … and sometimes crossing it。The largest cheating scandal of the past few years involved the Houston Astros， who put together an elaborate scheme Ever since the early days of baseball， there have been those who seek to gain a competitive advantage through various forms of chicanery。 And while there are certainly rules regarding the way in which the game is played and the conduct maintained while playing it， players have always pushed the envelope， seeking to come as close to the line as possible … and sometimes crossing it。The largest cheating scandal of the past few years involved the Houston Astros， who put together an elaborate scheme combining high- and low-tech techniques to steal the signs of their opponents and gain an advantage – an advantage that took them all the way to a World Series championship before later revelations brought the whole thing tumbling down。Andy Martino’s new book “Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing” takes the reader inside that scheme， introduces us to the primary figures in its execution and discusses its aftermath。 It also takes a trip through the history of sign stealing， a form of gamesmanship that has always been a part of the sport even as it has invited controversy along the way。It’s a well-reported and well-written book， one that details the extent of the Astros’ sins while also showing that while this recent scandal might be the one most prominent in our memories， it is far from the only time that a team has crossed a line in its efforts to gain a better understanding of （and advantage over） their opponents。Sign stealing has been a part of baseball since its inception。 Generations of players have sought to gain whatever edge they can through figuring out a way to inform their hitters about what pitch is going to be thrown。 And the general attitude of those in the game has always been that if you can crack the code， you’re welcome to the fruits of your labors。 However， while doing so with your eyes and your wits is viewed as gamesmanship， the use of technological assistance is forbidden。Strangely， in a profession packed with wildly， almost pathologically competitive individuals， it turns out that just telling people not to do something isn’t enough of a disincentive if they think it will win them ballgames。 And it has won some big ones。The primary focus in “Cheated” is the Astros scandal， of course。 And Martino does a fantastic job of really getting granular with regard to how the scheme was hatched， how it evolved and how the primary players engaged with it。In brief， it worked like this: team operatives would study video of the game in real time， seeking to decipher the signs of the opposition。 Once that was achieved， they could determine which pitch was coming。 That information was then conveyed to the player at the plate via noise – they used a number of methods， but the most popular seemed to be simply banging on a plastic trashcan。 Armed with the knowledge of what was coming， the batter could adjust accordingly。 Again， an ingenious marriage of high-tech and low。Veteran player Carlos Beltran and bench coach Alex Cora are generally considered the ringleaders; many （but not all） players took advantage to varying extents。 Manager A。J。 Hinch was aware but disapproving; GM Jeff Luhnow attempted to claim a degree of ignorance。 All of it played out on the grand stage， with alleged cheaters and victims both coming to the forefront and altering the perception of the game。It’s all fascinating stuff， rendered all the more engaging by the context that Martino constructs。 He reaches back through the history of the game and pulls examples of technologically-assisted sign-stealing from the past。 Early on， the Phillies had a scheme that involved a bench player with opera glasses， a modified telegraph and a buzzer buried beneath the third base coach’s box – an elegant， innovative and totally unethical plan。And of course， the previous champion as far as sign-stealing scandals， the decades-later revelation that 1951’s legendary “Shot Heard Round the World” hit by New York Giant Bobby Thompson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca – a home run that would send the Giants to the World Series – was influenced by the fact that Thompson likely knew what was coming。 The Giants had a setup in their home park that involved a center-field telescope and a particular scoreboard light。But it is the Astros who sit at the center of “Cheated。”Martino gets really granular here， relying on a significant depth of reportage。 He meticulously reconstructs events while also finding ways to delve into the mindsets of the primary figures involved。 It wonderfully captures the slippery slope nature of the scandal， the ethical erosion gradual in a way that allowed the main players not to grasp the full nature of their offense – or at the very least， allowed them to delude themselves with a variety of excuses。There are a lot of gray areas in the rules of baseball， both written and unwritten。 “Cheated” is a compelling look at what can happen to a team when they wade into the murky middle and allow their competitiveness to push them over the line。 The Houston Astros cheated and their 2017 title will be forever tainted because of that; thanks to the work of Andy Martino and others like him， we’ve all gotten a fuller， more detailed picture of just how that came to pass。 。。。more
Jean
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I know very little about baseball。 I’ve been to two major league games and that was in Seattle （not very exciting）。 But this book was available at the library and I’d heard of the scandal so my curiosity made me dive in and I’m glad。The good news is even if you are a baseball newbie this is interesting。 The author covers the Astro scandal but also puts it in context with the other cheating accusations in baseball history so the reader gets a window into how the Astros could have convinced themse I know very little about baseball。 I’ve been to two major league games and that was in Seattle （not very exciting）。 But this book was available at the library and I’d heard of the scandal so my curiosity made me dive in and I’m glad。The good news is even if you are a baseball newbie this is interesting。 The author covers the Astro scandal but also puts it in context with the other cheating accusations in baseball history so the reader gets a window into how the Astros could have convinced themselves that， “everyone was doing it” and they were just trying to get ahead。 After reading it I still think they were wrong but I understand how the team could’ve slid into a mindset where winning was worth any price。 Recommended。 。。。more
Richard West
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Well-researched， this offers a comprehensive look into how the Houston Astros managed to cheat their way to a World Series win in 2017。 But， while the Astros received most of the criticism， punishment and hate from fans and the establishment， they weren't the only ones who were using modern technology as a way to win - they just managed to go all the way to the coveted top spot doing it。And the use of technology to cheat isn't going to go away despite the best efforts of baseball's establishment Well-researched， this offers a comprehensive look into how the Houston Astros managed to cheat their way to a World Series win in 2017。 But， while the Astros received most of the criticism， punishment and hate from fans and the establishment， they weren't the only ones who were using modern technology as a way to win - they just managed to go all the way to the coveted top spot doing it。And the use of technology to cheat isn't going to go away despite the best efforts of baseball's establishment to get rid of it。 It may be gone today， but you can count on someone figuring out a way to do it tomorrow。 This is because of baseball's obsession with technology which has resulted in stupid， ridiculous stats with letters like WAR and WHIP and others which the casual average baseball fan has no idea about as to what they mean。 "Wins Above Replacement？" What the hell does that mean？ Who knows？ The techno-geeks do and they're the ones who were responsible for the Astros 2017 World Series win。Cheating - as in sign stealing - has been a part of baseball since the late 1800's and with the advent of today's technology got more and more sophisticated as the years went by。 Sign stealing is that little "game with the game" as the late Joe Garagiola called it， is perfectly acceptable and expected。 However， when modern technology is allowed to take over and refine it to the point where every pitch， every movement， is detected and the batter or runner on base knows what pitch is coming， that it goes to far。This then， is the story of how the Astros managed to cheat their way to their first-ever World Series win and World Championship and it makes for fascinating， interesting reading。 If you thought you knew everything about this scandal - the banging on garbage cans got a lot of media attention - guess again。 The garbage cans were only the tip of the iceberg。 It was all about how the Astros misused today's modern technology to become the World Champions and is must reading for even the most casual of fans。 You'll never watch a game again with the same sense of innocence that you did before。 。。。more
Karen Voitik
，
>Book Review – Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing>I am an independent reviewer。 This book is a standalone work of non-fiction。 The book starts out with a history of sign stealing in baseball。 As soon as someone realized they could see the catchers’ signs and figure out the pitches， players were trying to see the signs。 This began in the 1900’s。 All teams wanted to know the signs ahead of time。 Sign stealing is not illegal。 As the game of baseb >Book Review – Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing>I am an independent reviewer。 This book is a standalone work of non-fiction。 The book starts out with a history of sign stealing in baseball。 As soon as someone realized they could see the catchers’ signs and figure out the pitches， players were trying to see the signs。 This began in the 1900’s。 All teams wanted to know the signs ahead of time。 Sign stealing is not illegal。 As the game of baseball became more influenced by electronics， sign stealing became more digital， which is illegal。>The book goes into the building of the Astros from the early 2000’s， where they would purposely lose games to gain the high draft pick， to the 2017 World Series Championship season。 The book lists all the behind the scenes games that were being played by the Astros， their leadership and the MLB。 A lot more teams than just the Astros were trying to use tech to gain an advantage。 The list of what the MLB had to go through to debunk any and all complaints was ridiculous。 >This book is appropriate for any audience。 I am giving this book 4 stars。 I wish some of the Astros could have been interviewed for their take on all of this。 。。。more
Jake
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Fascinating。
Craig Michael
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Nothing particularly revelatory， but it was satisfying reading a recap of the entire cheating saga， with some insight into the involvement of players and coaches like Beltran， Hinch， and Cora。
Cody
，
Some interesting anecdotes but too inferential & speculative in spots with unattributed sources subbing for firsthand knowledge， reported as fact。 Almost reverential in parts toward NYC teams， which hurts the credibility of the narrative。
Michael Burke
，
There were rumors that the Dodgers were robbed of their 2017 World Series， that the Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish humiliations were results of being bushwhacked by electronic cheating。 My Dodgers lost that series and I resisted looking for excuses to deny my team lost to a better opponent。 In the football world， as a Patriots fan I constantly heard whining about New England only winning by playing dirty football and reacted with "yeah， yeah。" With this in mind I was skeptical and hesitant to ju There were rumors that the Dodgers were robbed of their 2017 World Series， that the Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish humiliations were results of being bushwhacked by electronic cheating。 My Dodgers lost that series and I resisted looking for excuses to deny my team lost to a better opponent。 In the football world， as a Patriots fan I constantly heard whining about New England only winning by playing dirty football and reacted with "yeah， yeah。" With this in mind I was skeptical and hesitant to jump on the fantastical Astro-cheater bandwagon。 Those S。O。B。's did it！ In Andy Martino's "Cheated" the entire case is fleshed out。 We get the whole history of sign stealing from the 1890's until now。 This scandal played out daily in the newspapers and radio talk shows but "Cheated" is not just a stretched-out magazine article， it breaks down how baseball got here and what has and has not been proven。 It does not toss up one dimensional evil villains， it shows men who start off only trying to get a competitive edge， progress believing "everybody else is doing it，" and finding themselves trying to defend themselves against a sports world booing them mercilessly。 Whatever the initial intentions， games and championships were compromised and opponents suffered。This is definitely a must-read for any baseball fan outside the Houston area。 Cue James Earl Jones sermonizing on the innocence of baseball。 Dissolve that picture and the screen is broken down into 1000 second per frame codebreaker technology。。。 where， as Andy Martino says， the computer monitor tells us we can no longer trust what we are watching。 I thank Doubleday Books， NetGalley， and Andy Martino for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review。 #Cheated #NetGalley #Doubleday 。。。more
Chris
，
Many are aware of the Astros cheating scandal from 2017， the year they were crowned world series champions。 For those who aren't aware， the Houston Astros were found to be using technological instruments to get an advantage on their opponents by using video and communication technology to steal signs from the catcher as he's relaying them to his pitcher， which unlike using your eyes， is against the rules of Major League Baseball。 Cheated chronicles the scandal in 2017 as well as documents the hi Many are aware of the Astros cheating scandal from 2017， the year they were crowned world series champions。 For those who aren't aware， the Houston Astros were found to be using technological instruments to get an advantage on their opponents by using video and communication technology to steal signs from the catcher as he's relaying them to his pitcher， which unlike using your eyes， is against the rules of Major League Baseball。 Cheated chronicles the scandal in 2017 as well as documents the history of sign stealing， both legal and illegal， dating as far back as the 1900 season and the ways in which it was done。 The majority of the book， however， details the investigations into the Astros， the Red Sox， and Yankees， who were each accused of illegal sign stealing in 2017-2019。 Martino demonstrates how MLB Commissioner Bud Selig didn't put much effort in to investigating the sign stealing complaints。 Martino shows how Selig， whose own reputation had been tarnished by his inaction during the steroids era， was too busy trying to redeem his own reputation by completely ruining the reputation of known performance enhancing drug user Alex Rodriguez。 Current commissioner Rob Manfred also angered players and fans by not punishing players for their respective roles in the controversy and cheapening the importance of winning the world series by referring to the trophy as "a piece of metal。"Martino has clearly done his research here as this is very well detailed。 He writes in a way that isn't an information dump and makes his main subjects human， even the villains。 It also serves as a cautionary tale of what can happen when a team decides to place such an emphasis on winning that they are willing to break the rules to do so。 If you're a baseball fan， I would highly recommend reading this fascinating book。 My appreciation to Doubleday， Andy Martino， and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Jeff Ford
，
Cheated is an incredibly well sourced and well written tale of the Astros cheating scandal in 2017。 The Astros won the World Series that year， their first in franchise history。 What should've been a feel good story for the city and the team was overshadowed by a massive sign stealing operation that gave the Astros hitters a competitive advantage。Martino does a great job chronicling the history of sign stealing throughout major league baseball。 This was fascinating to me， as sign stealing has evo Cheated is an incredibly well sourced and well written tale of the Astros cheating scandal in 2017。 The Astros won the World Series that year， their first in franchise history。 What should've been a feel good story for the city and the team was overshadowed by a massive sign stealing operation that gave the Astros hitters a competitive advantage。Martino does a great job chronicling the history of sign stealing throughout major league baseball。 This was fascinating to me， as sign stealing has evolved in the technology age from a legal practice that was really only possible by a man on second base， to an entire media operation designed to steal and communicate signs。 The book did bog down at parts when Martino was introducing and telling the story of the various characters involved， and we didn't really dive into the actual cheating scandal until about halfway through the book， but the backstory of the teams， players， managers， and office execs enriched the reading experience overall。While I was familiar with the scandal， there is enough detailed and new information in the book for it to be totally worth the read。 I almost feel like this story has not been reported on enough， as the COVID pandemic postponed the 2020 baseball season and dominated the news， Any baseball or sports fan will love this inside look at one of the biggest scandals in sports history。I was given a free ebook copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kevin
，
I wonder if readers will feel the same way after reading Sinclair’s THE JUNGLE as I did reading final page of CHEATED
Lance
，