Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve had to set the record straight about what happened last year. He was recently accused on social media of wearing a buzzer under his jersey so he could steal signs from opponents. He spoke to his agent, Scott Boras, and he said the claim is completely false.
“Jose Altuve called me and said he wants it known that he has never, ever worn an electronic device in a major league game — ever,” Boras said to Sports Illustrated. “He never received any form — of a trigger or any information — via an electronic product that was on his body or in his uniform. He has never worn any electronic device. Ever.”
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The reason Altuve was accused of this was the fact he did not want his jersey ripped off after he hit a walk-off home run in the 2019 American League Championship Series. After the game, Altuve said he didn’t want his shirt ripped off because he didn’t want to be shirtless after the game due to his wife’s preference and his modesty.
“I told him, ‘They are defaming you as a player and your MVP season,’” Boras said. “You need to respond. He already stated publicly his reasons for keeping his shirt on and those are his reasons.”
This accusation of Altuve comes on the heels of their manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow being fired for their involvement in sign-stealing. At first, the duo was suspended for a year by the MLB which led to them being let go by team owner Jim Crane.
“It is very clear to me that the culture of the baseball operations department, manifesting itself in the way its employees are treated, its relations with other clubs, and its relations with the media and external stakeholders, has been very problematic,” league commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in a nine-page statement. “At least in my view, the baseball operations department’s insular culture — one that valued and rewarded results over other considerations, combined with a staff of individuals who often lacked direction or sufficient oversight, led, at least in part, to the Brandon Taubman incident, the club’s admittedly inappropriate and inaccurate response to that incident, and finally, to an environment that allowed the conduct described in this report to have occurred.”
None of the players, including Altuve, were punished by the league. However, former Astros player Carlos Beltran was named in the investigation report and he was fired by the New York Mets after being named the team’s manager back in November.
