Keynan Middleton takes 2017 Astros cheating scandal personally originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
In his five-months with the White Sox, reliever Keynan Middleton has made at least one thing abundantly clear.
He loathes the 2017 Houston Astros. Like, a lot.
So much so that after a save in early May against the AL Central-leading Twins, he basked in the glory of striking out Carlos Correa to end the game.
On a recent episode of NBC Sports Chicago’s “White Sox Talk Podcast,” Middleton explained why Houston’s 2017 sign-stealing scandal still strikes a nerve.
“I’m not a fan of most of those guys,” Middleton said. “It just rubs me the wrong way how you cheat and then you can be on every MLB Network commercial, they’re interviewing you for everything and you’re a cheater.
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“They know what pitches are coming. When I was over with the Angels, we had to go into that series with four different sets of signs. We didn’t do that with any other team.”
Playing in the Astros-dominated AL West from 2017-2021 with the Angels and Mariners probably didn’t help heal any wounds. Middleton, though, took personal offense to how the scandal impacted the league.
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“Those people changed some of my friends’ careers [by cheating], and they had no consequences,” Middleton said. “They teed off on some of my own friends that I came up into the league with, and some of those guys get sent back to the minor leagues. And then you find out they’re cheating, and that just rubs you the wrong way.”
There’s a chance Astros fans and media will respond to Middleton’s comments with a hint of understanding that the team’s actions had unfortunate consequences for some hard-working, rule-abiding individuals.
What’s more likely is that they’ll continue to flex on it, calling those who dare bring up one of baseball’s greatest scandals “obsessed.”
Talk about rent-free.
