Derek Jeter shared his hope that baseball is ready to move on from the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.
The Yankees great turned Marlins CEO spoke at Miami's spring training camp on Monday about the fallout from Houston's illegal sign-stealing scandal.
"You hope at some point people can just move on," Jeter told reporters. The first-ballot Hall of Famer also described the cheating scheme as "a black eye for the sport."
Jeter explained that people have long sought an edge in sports, but the Astros "took it way too far. And there are penalties for it."
According to the Captain, Houston has been "paying the price" for their sign-stealing scandal.
"Regardless of what the penalties are, others are going to have their opinions on what they think should happen."
Except, no Astros players were actually penalized for stealing signs. Though the Astros organization was fined and stripped of draft picks, while their manager and GM were suspended for a year, the lack of player discipline has drawn heat from fans and rival players around the league.
Angels star Mike Trout, hardly an outspoken player, was one of those players.
"I don't agree with the punishment," Trout, a three-time AL MVP, said. "I lost respect for some of those guys."
Cody Bellinger, whose Dodgers lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series, came down harder.
"I thought Manfred's punishment was weak, giving them immunity," Bellinger, the reigning NL MVP, said. "Those guys were cheating for three years."
Aaron Judge, the Yankees' first superstar since Jeter retired in 2014, said Houston's title "wasn't earned."
"I just don't think (their championship) holds any value," Judge said. "You cheated."
Jeter's perspective may have more in common with commissioner Rob Manfred's defense of MLB's absence of punishment than it does with the baseball stars that have succeeded him and now compete against his team. He did, however, accurately capture the reception to the scandal enveloping the sport: "I'm sure this is going to sting for a while."
