The Los Angeles Dodgers have finally won the World Series! Though they have made it to the World Series three out of the past four years, this is a historic occasion because they are champions for the first time since 1988. This year, they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in four games after facing several different opponents, most notably the Houston Astros. The Dodgers vs. Astros series, which took place in 2017, was memorable since it lasted for seven games and was the first glimpse of light for a Dodgers championship. However, there is controversy surrounding the series, in that the Astros are widely known as “cheaters.” The Astros have seen lots of controversies, though they were never stripped of their World Series title.

In November 2019, reporters at The Athletic published an article exposing the Houston Astros and, in particular, their pitcher Mike Fiers. He reportedly used a video camera at the center of the field to film the opposing team’s signals. On top of that, the article exposed the Astros’ additional cheating in that they would bang drums, which would help the batter know what type of pitch to expect. There was always a suspicion of the Astros cheating amongst players and staff, though the evidence was never concrete until the article was published. Baseball Enthusiast Dillan Lacy, Quartz Hill High School Sophomore, states, “I’ve watched the MLB for a while now. It’s pretty obvious that the Astros have cheated. I’ve read a lot of rumors about it, and when they were eventually exposed, it confirmed my suspicions, and I was disappointed, to say the least, in that a professional MLB team would cheat.”

Just recently, in Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court Hearing on October 15th, Senate Judiciary member Ben Sasse of Nebraska mentioned the Houston Astros as ‘miserable’ and known cheaters. The GOP stated, “I think all baseball fans know that the Houston Astros cheat. They steal signs. They bang on cans. They’ve done a whole bunch of miserable things historically, and they deserve to be punished probably more than they have been.”

The fact that such a controversial topic was brought up in the Supreme Court Hearing is rather strange, but also significant since the issue has been brought to the limelight and gained public attention as a result. Lacy states, “The fact that the Astros Cheating was brought up in a [Senate hearing] of all places surprises me. I think it is pretty cool, though, since the Astros weren’t punished too heavily for cheating in the first place.”