The accusations started to come together after Mike Fiers, a former Astros pitcher, told The Athletic in an interview that he had warned both the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics that the Astros knew what the pitchers were throwing by a camera placed in center field, relayed the information to the dugout and let the hitters know during their at bats during home games.

The Athletic, who has been at the forefront of this story, newly reports that the people who played a key role in this scandal are A.J. Hinch, ex-bench manager now Boston manager, Alex Cora, and now retired player, Carlos Beltran.

Houston went on to defeat the Boston Red Sox, The New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, winning the 2017 championship. The Astros were dominant at home during the postseason that year, winning 8 of their 9 at Minute Maid Park.

“I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they’re going in there not knowing… I wanted to help them out and say, ‘Hey, this stuff really does go on. Just be prepared.” Fiers said told the website.

The Yankee’s whistling accusation might not be so “ridiculous” after all. During this year’s ALCS, the Yankees have complained about suspicious whistling coming from the Astros dugout when they were playing in Houston in Game 1. The Yankees wanted an investigation to take place but were presumed doubtful because of lack of evidence. The Mike Fiers accusation clearly helps the Yankee’s case against the Astros, especially considering they lost to them in the 2017 and 2019 postseason series assuming it gave them an edge to win.

The MLB had released a statement over the Astros sign stealing accusations stating: “Beginning in the 2017 season, numerous clubs expressed general concerns that other clubs were stealing signs. As a result of those concerns, and after receiving extensive input from the general managers, we issued a revised policy on sign stealing prior to the 2019 season. We also put in place detailed protocols and procedures to provide comfort to clubs that other clubs were not using video during the game to decode and steal signs. After we review this new information we will determine any necessary next steps.”

The Houston Astros organization also released a statement Tuesday afternoon after the allegations came to light. “Regarding the story posted by The Athletic earlier today, the Houston Astros organization has begun an investigation in cooperation with Major League Baseball. It would not be appropriate to comment further on this matter at this time.”

It would be interesting to see what the MLB Commissioner decides to do in order to punish and create a statement on sign stealing/cheating in the MLB.