Dusty Baker Defends Jose Altuve Amid Astros' Cheating Scandal Fallout
Six years have passed since MLB released the results of its investigation into the Houston Astros' cheating scandal, but that has not stopped fans from treating them like villains.
No one has been booed more loudly than Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, one of three players still around from the 2017 championship team that was at the center of the league's findings. On the latest episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast, released Wednesday, former Astros manager Dusty Baker came to the nine-time All-Star's defense over the hostility he has faced on the road.
"The guy that took the brunt of it was really Jose Altuve and he was the most innocent dude there," Baker told former NBA player Matt Barnes. "That really affected me how he was treated all over, everywhere and he didn't deserve it."
The 2017 Astros were found to have illegally stolen signs electronically and relayed them to hitters by banging on a trash can. Altuve won his third batting title that season and beat out New York Yankees star Aaron Judge for the American League MVP award after posting a career-best .346/.410/.547 slash line.
In the spring following the investigation, then-Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellingeraccused Altuve of stealing the MVP award from Judge, who led the league with 52 home runs in 2017. Several of Altuve's teammates defended him afterward, claiming that he did not take advantage of the sign-stealing system and refused to participate in it.
Data compiled by the website signstealingscandal.com appears to back those claims. Of the 866 pitches tracked by Tony Adams during Altuve's home at-bats, only 24 (3%) were preceded by banging noises. His batting average was also 70 points better on the road (.381) than it was at home, where the Astros are known to have electronically stolen signs.
Baker, now 76, was brought in to manage the Astros after MLB suspended AJ Hinch and bench coach Alex Cora for the entire 2020 season. He went on to lead Houston to three division titles in four years, along with two AL pennants and a World Series title (2022), before stepping down at the end of the 2023 season.
"I knew I had a chance to win," Baker said. "I didn't care about the scandal. Because I wasn't there. I just asked the world to forgive them. Because the hardest thing in the world is for people to forgive each other, but everybody's quick to throw stones."
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 7:52 AM.