8 years ain’t enough for the dust on the Astros’ cheating scandal to settle. This Thursday, a former teammate reignited the controversy with a staunch defense of Jose Altuve.

Plenty of theories in the past years have been thrown around about whether or not Jose Altuve was secretly wearing a buzzer under his jersey. Appearing on Foul Territory, former Astros veteran Josh Reddick revealed why Altuve didn’t want his jersey torn after that ALCS walk-off.

He emphasized that Jose Altuve “didn’t have a wire on him buzzing. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

He explained that the moment had nothing to do with any hidden device. Jose Altuve was just embarrassed over a tattoo he’d just gotten. Reddick claimed that neither he nor Jose Altuve nor Tony Kemp ever used the illegal system.

“I’ll tell you until the day I die, I did not use it. I’m one of the guys that did not take advantage of the system. I, Altuve, and Tony Kemp are the three guys that didn’t even think about using it. That’s not even me coming as a direct source first. Carlos Correa came out and said it the day after we went to the media in that spring training in 2020.”

“José Altuve, Josh Reddick, Tony Kemp didn’t use it at all. They didn’t want to. [They’d] get mad if somebody would bang the trash can when they were hitting. Yeah, it was those three guys,” Carlos Correa revealed to a group of reporters back in 2020.

But Reddick understands that rival fans of Houston might never agree to this.

Josh Reddick is most likely referring to the Yankees fans. Apparently, the Bronx faithful continue to bring this saga back, and this time, the 13-year veteran is urging everyone to move on for good.

He emphasized that the situation should be viewed for what it actually was, rather than what people speculate.

This is the second time in the past two weeks that Reddick has come out defending Jose Altuve. As he sees it, the criticism directed at the 35-year-old over the scandal has gone far beyond what’s reasonable.

As a consequence of the scandal, many tend to overlook just how impressive Jose Altuve’s career has been.

This season marked his 15th year with the Astros, and he’s steadily climbing the franchise’s all-time offensive leaderboards. Yet, this scandal will likely impact Jose Altuve’s Hall of Fame chances.

Hall of Fame or not, Jose Altuve remains a fan favorite

All these years, Jose Altuve has been the heart of the Houston Astros. He has helped lead the Astros to two World Series titles and earned a reputation as one of the most clutch hitters of his generation.

Moving forward, when Jose Altuve hangs up his cleats after the 2029 season, he will likely have a résumé that screams first-ballot Hall of Famer. But what if the voters still don’t give him enough support in his first year?

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To put it simply, Houston fans would lose it!

When asked about it, Altuve has always kept things simple. He confirmed he was part of that team and stood by his teammates, but offered nothing more than that.

Yet, years down the line, he’s still booed in every ballpark except for Minute Maid Park.

National broadcasters often label him a cheater, even though every member of the 2017-18 Astros received immunity. Jose Altuve was never singled out as a cheater, and some evidence even suggests the opposite. But he may still face the harshest and, frankly, the most unfair consequence of all.

However, Houston fans would go to any lengths to see him at Cooperstown.