LOS ANGELES — With Los Angeles fans reeling from news that two of the Dodgers’ recent World Series opponents were linked to a cheating scandal that tipped off batters to what pitch was about to be thrown, the City Council voted Tuesday to ask Major League Baseball to strip the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox of their World Series titles.
The resolution was introduced after MLB revealed in a report Jan. 13 how the Astros used a sign-stealing system instituted by then-coach Alex Cora during the 2017 season, when Houston beat Los Angeles in the World Series. The Red Sox are under investigation for possibly stealing signs in Cora’s first season as manager in 2018, when Boston beat the Dodgers.
Council members acknowledged that the vote was purely symbolic. The goal was to send a message that cheating shouldn’t be tolerated, said Councilman Gil Cedillo, who introduced the motion along with Councilman Paul Koretz.
“It’s important for us to raise our voice and to say that this is not the new normal, that this is not acceptable and that the Houston Astros were not the champions nor the best team that year,” Cedillo said.
The resolution requests “that in addition to the penalties already imposed, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball remove the 2017 and 2018 World Series titles from the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox.”
It requested the commissioner to recall the World Series trophies and award them to the Dodgers.
MLB fined Houston $5 million and suspended manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, who were later fired by the team. Days later, the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora, who was an Astros coach in 2017 and was cited in the MLB report for his role in Houston’s cheating.
Last week, the New York Mets parted ways with rookie manager Carlos Beltran, a player on the Astros in 2017 who also was linked to the scandal.
Councilman Bob Blumenfield said while he believes Houston and Boston should be stripped of their titles, “the motion goes a little too far” in saying that the Series should be awarded to the Dodgers.
“We are going to win it for real in 2020,” Blumenfield said.
