CHICAGO _ White Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel apologized Friday for any role he played as a member of the 2017-18 Astros teams that Major League Baseball punished this month for running a system of stealing signs using technology.
Keuchel, who signed a three-year, $55.5 million deal with the Sox last month, didn't elaborate on the extent of his knowledge or participation in the scheme, but the admission itself, at the opening of the SoxFest fan convention, was stunning.
"First and foremost I think apologies should be in order for, if not everybody on the team," then himself, Keuchel told reporters during a scheduled media session. "It was never intended to be what it is made to be right now. I think when stuff comes out about things that happen over the course of a major league ball season, it's always blown up to the point of 'Oh, my gosh, this has never happened before.' "
An MLB investigation found that during their 2017 World Series championship season and part of 2018, the Astros stole signs during games at Minute Maid Park using a camera positioned in the outfield. Players and staff helped relay the expected pitches to the batter by banging on trash cans.
"I can tell you that not every game (were) signs being stolen," Keuchel said. "Some guys did a really good job, and sometimes we did as a group had signs and nobody still could hit the pitcher, so it wasn't like every game we had everything going on. So at that point, that's when the whole (sign-stealing) system, it really works a little bit. But at the same time there was human element where some (pitchers) were better than our hitters."
The Astros received stiff penalties, including a $5 million fine and the loss of their first- and second-round picks in the next two drafts. Manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for the entire 2020 season, and Astros owner Jim Crane fired both men later that day.
Keuchel said other teams sometimes used multiple signs even when there wasn't a runner on second, which made the Astros wonder whether the other team was up to no good.
"That's the other side of the equation," he said. "I know, hey, these teams are using multiple signs. What are they doing (that) for? I mean, it just happened to come out with the Astros. Like I said there are a lot of people that are sorry in that organization, including myself, for what happened.
"Do pitchers benefit from any of that? Not really. But at the same time, we might have had a few runs more per game, but in my instance I did not (have extra run support). I was pretty mad about that," he said and laughed.
Former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers blew the whistle on the sign-stealing scheme, and Keuchel wondered if other teams may be called out in the future.
"I don't think anybody else is going to come out and say something from other teams," he said. "Let's see what happens now."
Teams have attempted to steal signs at various levels for ages, but the Astros drew criticism in baseball circles for using technology as an aid.
"It's just what the state of baseball was at that point in time," Keuchel said. "Was it against the rules? Yes, it was. I personally am sorry for what's come about the whole situation. It is what it is, and we've got to move past that. I never thought anything would've come like it did. I, myself, am sorry."
He suggested technology changes the dialogue about not only sign-stealing, but also its overall use in baseball.
"There's conversations all the time about signs," he said. "If we're going to go into robot umpires and automated strike zones, then definitely a mic to the pitcher-catcher should be evolutionized. But if we're not going to do that, then keep it as is.
"It's either, hey, let's do one thing or let's do the other and quit talking about it."
