How Scansis Functions: Lessons from the Houston Astros Sign-Stealing Crisis

Relevant Rhetoric, Vol. 12 (2021): How Scansis Functions How Scansis Functions: Lessons from the Houston Astros Sign-Stealing Crisis Karen L. Hartman LeAnne W. Woods Associate Professor Graduate Student Idaho State University Idaho State University [email protected] [email protected] Relevant Rhetoric, Vol. 12 (2021): How Scansis Functions On January 13, 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner, Robert D. Manfred Jr., released investigation findings confirming that the Houston Astros illegally used a video camera system to electronically steal signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason, in which they won the World Series, and early in the 2018 regular season. The findings exposed what has been referred to as “one of the biggest scandals in Major League Baseball history.”1 MLB eventually fined the organization $5 million and the Astros were forced to forfeit their first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. The team’s owner, Jim Crane, also fired the general manager, Jeff Luhnow, and manager, A. J. Hinch. In this paper we analyze Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros organizational rhetoric and crisis response efforts after the organization was found guilty of cheating. Analysis spans from the beginning of the crisis on November 12, 2019 through March 12, 2020 and items analyzed include two Houston Astro press conferences and news stories published across 20 media outlets. By viewing the crisis as a “scansis,” a unique type of crisis and scandal characterized by moral outrage, the authors hope to further the field’s understanding of this newly introduced term, investigate how crisis communication impacts stakeholders after a scansis, and identify practical steps crisis communication practitioners can take in scansis situations.2 While previous research on scansis utilized survey research to produce quantitative findings, our analysis offers qualitative research as a way to understand stakeholder reactions that can ultimately be compared with Coombs and Tachkova’s findings, as their work is the first known published research on scansis.3 It is our hope that this type of layered approach to understanding scansis, by comparing our qualitative By Unknown author - Spielplan, Public Domain findings to prior quantitative research, can further https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?cu- validate the initial findings of Coombs and Tachkova, rid=32282001 provide a deeper level of knowledge on scansis, and benefit practitioners by helping them know how to respond when an event blurs definitional lines. BACKGROUND The MLB investigation into the Astros organization resulted from a November 12, 2019 article published on The Athletic that included testimony from former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers.4 This was Fiers’ first acknowledgment to reporters that some, but not all, of the players with the Astros were utilizing electronic sign stealing in 2017, with three other unnamed sources also mentioned in the piece. This prompted an MLB investigation that eventually proved a cheating scheme had existed over two seasons. The team’s electronic sign stealing involved a camera in center field to video the catcher’s signals and relay them in real time to someone who could quickly interpret what pitch was coming and immediately alert the batter. Since the 2014 season, MLB managers had the opportunity during each game to dispute one call with a video replay system. The Astros’ video replay room, however, illegally accessed this feed from the center field replay cameras throughout home games to electronically steal signs.5 At the beginning of 2017, someone would decipher the pitch, run from the replay room to the dugout with the information, and the dugout would transfer that quickly to the batter. Eventually, the bench manager, Alex Cora, started calling the video replay room to get 1 Relevant Rhetoric, Vol. 12 (2021): How Scansis Functions Tab 1 T H A n-stealing vents The Athletic released a story stating the Houston Astros electronically stole signs during Nov. 12 ‘19 the 2017 season and part of the 2018 season. General manager Jeff Luhnow told media the club was looking into allegations in Nov. 12 ‘19 conjunctions witht the MLB. Astros organization released a statement referencing The Athletic story, saying they Nov. 12 ‘19 were cooperating with MLB and that they had no further comment. Nov. 19 ‘19 MLB Commissioner Manfred addressed the scandal and said the investigation was thorough and ongoing. Manfred and MLB released their official statement and disciplinary actions regarding Jan. 13 ‘20 the Astros sign-stealing. Houston owner Jim Crane held a press conference, fired GM and manager, and Jan. 13 ‘20 promised this won’t happen again. Jan. 16 ‘20 Josh Reddick was the first Astros player to address the media and didn’t apologize. Jose Altuve & Ale Bregman, 2 other players on 2017 team, addressed the media. Jan. 18 ‘20 They accepted MLB’s actions but did not apologize. Crane informally addressed media. Promised an apology when the team gets back Jan. 21 ‘20 together at spring training in February. Jan. 29 ‘20 Dusty Baker was hired as manager and Jim Click was hired as general manager. Media day at spring training. Crane, Baker, Bregman, and Altuve spoke at a press conference. All apologize, but many media outlets reported a lack of remorse by Feb. 13 ‘20 players and management. All players were made available to the media in clubhouse for additional informal interviews. Spring training games, which began on Feb. 23 for the Astros, were cancelled due to Mar. 12 ‘20 the COVID-19 pandemic, and the season for all MLB teams was indefinitely postponed. the signs, or the signs would be texted either to a smart watch or a smart phone of someone in Houston’s dugout. After not getting caught, the strategy developed. Cora then had the center field camera feed go straight to a television monitor just outside the Astros dugout, and players would watch the monitor and bang on a garbage can twice if it was going to be a change up or a curveball, or not at all if a fast ball was coming.6 Knowing what pitch is coming gives the batter a crucial advantage and the opposing pitcher a significant disadvantage. The resulting advantage allowed the Astros to win the most significant title in the league, the World Series. While the crisis lasted for months (see Table 1), the MLB investigation culminated on January 13, 2020 with the Astros being fined $5 million, losing their 2020 and 2021 first and second round draft picks, and suspending their general manager and manager for the 2020 season. For more click here Sign Stealing: Explained Reactions outside the Astros’ organization were unfavorable when MLB handed down these punishments. Fans, players, and owners were unhappy with how “easy” the Astros got off as the Astros were allowed to keep their 2017 title and initially showed no remorse for their actions. After MLB’s investigation into Houston concluded, one anonymous baseball executive told the Washington Post that for years he and 10-12 other team executives had complained to MLB that the Astros were engaged in something nefarious.7 Another unnamed executive noted, “The whole industry knows they’ve been cheating […] for three or four years. Everybody knew it.”8 2 Relevant Rhetoric, Vol. 12 (2021): How Scansis Functions Additionally, when The Athletic story was published, more negative attention of the organization’s past transgressions clouded public perception. Assistant general manager Brandon Taubman lost his job during the 2019 season for directing inappropriate comments at female reporters in the clubhouse. One of the female reporters was accused by the Astros organization of trying to “fabricate a story,” but the team later retracted their statement after Taubman was fired. These negative headlines throughout 2019 were in addition to the Astros having to defend themselves against cheating allegations. A history of crisis within an organization is known as the velcro effect, which is the tendency of previous crises to “attach to” and frame new organizational crises, making it more difficult for them to recover good will due to the compounding negative crises.9 A negative reputation for the Astros organization was building even before fans and the public knew the extent of the team’s electronic sign stealing. The manner in which the team cheated, and its developing complexity as those involved weren’t caught, suggested a disregard for ethics and embraced a win-at-all-cost mentality that contradicts the myth and norms that sport is an even playing field where hard work and effort are what sets winners and losers apart. Athletes are perceived to demonstrate moral purity and religious piety, and cheating on such a large scale challenged these myths and questioned the “The view from our seats at Minute Maid Park for the Houston Astros” by DerekA is licensed with contractual underpinning CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, that many fans put their visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ faith in – that sports contests are fought as fairly as possible.10 When fans attend sporting events, the expectation is to see a fair contest devoid of cheating. This assumption between players and fans can create significant problems when immoral activities occur, values differ, and rewards are not appropriately awarded to those teams or individuals who abide by the sacrosanct protocols and rituals enmeshed in sports. As the Houston Astros electronically stole signs throughout two seasons and won a World Series as a consequence of their cheating, fans, media and other players who respect the rules of the game were morally outraged. Moral outrage is the perceived violation of a moral principle or standard that results in anger.11 The sports world rests on perceived moral principles that anchor a viewers’ experience.

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