Cheated
Books | Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General
4
(151)
Andy Martino
“A baseball book that reads like a spy novel—a story about cheaters and the cheated that has the power to forever change how we feel about the game.” —Brian Williams, MSNBC anchor and host of The 11th Hour The definitive insider story of one of the biggest cheating scandals to ever rock Major League Baseball, bringing down high-profile coaches and players, and exposing a long-rumored "sign-stealing" dark side of baseballThe ensuing scandal rivaled that of the 1919 "Black Sox" and the more recent steroid era, and became one of the most significant that the game had ever seen. The fallout ensnared many other teams, either as victims, alleged cheaters or both. The Los Angeles Dodgers felt robbed of a World Series title, and fended off accusations about their organization. Same for the New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox were soon under investigation themselves. The New York Mets lost a promising manager before he ever managed a game.Andy Martino, an award-winning journalist who has covered Major League Baseball for more than a decade, has broken numerous stories about the Astros and sign-stealing in baseball. In Cheated, Martino takes readers behind the scenes and into the heart of the events that shocked the baseball world. With inside access to the people directly involved, Martino breaks down not only exactly what happened and when, but reveals the fascinating explanations of why it all came about. The nuance and detail of the scandal reads like a true sports whodunnit. How did otherwise good people like Astros' manager A.J. Hinch, bench coach Alex Cora and veteran leader Carlos Beltran find themselves on the wrong side of clear ethical lines? And did they even know when those lines had been crossed? Cheated is an explosive, electrifying read.
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Author
Andy Martino
Pages
288
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published Date
2021-06-08
ISBN
0385546807 9780385546805
Community ReviewsSee all
"The inside story of the Houston Astro’s camera scandal. As a lifelong baseball fan, I had to know who was in on this. This was a pretty easy and engaging read but when it comes to stories like this, I would prefer more research. It does seem to be lacking in detail and there are probably things that will never be proven. MLB has has a problem with players in the grey area for decades. "
Sheldon Rapoza
"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. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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."<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>My appreciation to Doubleday, Andy Martino, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review."
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Chris Hicks
