While the Houston Astros season ended with an ALCS loss to the Texas Rangers in October, they’re still not safe from hearing comments about their sign-stealing scandal.
The Cleveland Browns hosted the New York Jets on Thursday night. With the Browns needing only a win to clinch a playoff spot, the fans in the Dawg Pound and throughout Cleveland Browns Stadium were particularly boisterous. They got only noisier as the game progressed and the score got more lopsided in Cleveland’s favor. That included the banging of garbage cans, which was audible for both fans watching the Amazon Prime broadcast at home and play-by-play man Al Michaels.
With the Browns leading 27-7 in the second quarter and the Jets facing a third-and-17, the fans in Cleveland were getting loud. That included the garbage cans being banged. At that point, Michaels couldn’t exactly help himself.
“Somebody’s pounding on that trash can, I think the Astros must be in town,” he said.
"Somebody's pounding on that trash can, I think the Astros must be in town."
– Al Michaels pic.twitter.com/tCLz8xXHud
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 29, 2023
For anyone who might not be up to speed on the matter, shortly after the 2019 MLB season, it was revealed that the Astros had illegally used cameras as a way to steal signs from their opponents. Once it was determined what pitch the catcher had called, someone in the Houston dugout would bang on a trash can to signal the hitter what was coming. The number of bangs would indicate what was coming.
While there are some notable exceptions, most of the people involved in the scandal are gone from the Astros now. But despite that, as well as the time since it’s been revealed and that we’re not in baseball season, the Astros are still not quite safe from an occasional troll.
[Photo Credit: Amazon Prime]
