Yankees Warned MLB About Astros Potential Cheating Scandal Even Before Their Explosive Game Started

The Astros were trying to mount a late comeback Thursday night, trailing the Yankees by four in the ninth. Their late surge saw Victor Caratini lead off with a single, and Taylor Trammell followed with a double off the wall, suddenly bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs against reliever David Bednar. And that’s when Yankees manager Aaron Boone stepped in. He came out and asked the umpires to inspect Trammell’s bat.

Plate umpire Adrian Johnson, the crew chief, took the bat from a Houston bat boy and gathered his crew. Reportedly, they even went to the headset for a crew chief review to make sure the bat was legal, since the barrel showed some discoloration. Enough for Trammell to say that he was told the concern was about the bat being “shaved down too much.” But what was Boone’s reasoning for raising the issue?

“It was just something that we noticed this series and asked the league about. You’re not allowed to do anything to your bat. I’m not saying he was. I just, we noticed and the league thought it maybe was illegal too… The discoloration was on the label, like. I don’t know if it was just natural or if it was sand … I don’t know, I don’t want to accuse Taylor. I’m not saying anything untoward or whatever,” Boone shared what made him ask for a check. Apparently he’d already raised the issue before the match to the MLB.

But what was the issue with Trammell’s bat? Well, at first, there was some chatter that Trammell’s bat might be corked or maybe even had too much pine tar on it. But after a closer look, it turned out the barrel was just worn down past the original layer of paint. That led the umpires to get on the headset and call New York for an official ruling. Maybe an overused bat.

However, Boone was clear enough that there was no accusation of cheating against Trammell. And it’s just the Yankees’ precaution to ask the umpires for a check.

The Yankees were also on the receiving end

Remember, just after the Opening Day this year, the Yankees were accused of using illegal torpedo bats? For the unversed, the torpedo bat redistributes weight toward the middle of the bat. And thats the part where many Yankees hitters tend to make contact, making the bat feel lighter and easier to swing more quickly. Moreover, the thinner end reduces drag without compromising barrel size. The result? Higher swing speed and the effective sweet spot.

And expectedly, with the Yankees’ sluggers like Jazz Chisholm starting the use of one, it took no time for controversies to arise. However, despite some early skepticism, MLB has confirmed that torpedo bats comply with rules. And guess what, they meet the maximum dimensions for length and diameter outlined in Rule 3.02.

So yes, the accusation against the Yankees was somewhat similar to what the Astros are facing now. Both got accused by the opponents, and both were deemed to be nothing illegal.