Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing

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.