LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz and Gilbert Cedillo will urge their colleagues today to pass a resolution asking Major League Baseball to award the 2017 and 2018 World Series titles to the Dodgers.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred concluded last week that the Houston Astros used a camera to illicitly steal signs from opposing catchers during the 2017 season, which ended with the Astros defeating the Dodgers in seven games in the World Series.
According to Manfred, citing results of an investigation by Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations, the sign-stealing system was orchestrated by then-Astros bench coach Alex Cora, who served as manager of the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 season, which ended with the Red Sox defeating the Dodgers in the World Series in five games.
Manfred initially suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for a year, but the club quickly fired the pair. The Astros were also fined $5 million and ordered to forfeit their first- and second-round draft picks for two years.
Cora, who has yet to be punished by MLB, parted ways with the Red Sox following the release of the investigation.
Koretz conceded that it's “uncharted territory” to request Major League Baseball to strip two teams of their titles and award them to another, but he believes it would be warranted in light of the cheating that occurred.
“MLB did take it seriously by (issuing) significant suspensions, which were followed by major league clubs firing managers,” Koretz told City News Service. “There have been scandals in the past over the century-plus that we've had Major League Baseball in this country.
“I'm not sure if we've had this documented an effort to steal two World Series, and we know the results. ... I think that would be an appropriate payback. I think this really besmirches the national pastime and the most historic sport in American history, and there has to be a message that this isn't allowed.”
The lifelong Dodgers fan said even the players who knew of the scheme to steal pitch signs but did not come forward about it should be held accountable. He said the cheating likely robbed the Dodgers of a shot at the titles, but he said there's no way to know.
According to Forbes, it is highly unlikely that the teams will have to forfeit their World Series titles, as Manfred is “exceptionally limited in making it happen without going to war with the MLBPA,” the union that represents major league players.
The resolution does not call for the city to take any legal action, although some Dodgers fans have suggested going to court over the matter.
The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was in 1988, when they defeated the Oakland Athletics.
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