MLB Cardinals Chair & CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. on Thursday "tried to address his franchise’s inexplicable entanglement" in the hacking scandal involving the Astros' proprietary database, and his comfort level was "predictably nil as his organization’s in-house legal counsel sat in his sight line," according to Joe Strauss of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. He "started by reading from a two-sided handwritten prepared statement," reiterating "ignorance of his team’s possible involvement until notified by the FBI." Strauss: "This is DeWitt's nightmare." He has "striven for 20 years to make the franchise’s brand as much about class and integrity as about wins and losses." His degree of success is "reflected in positions he has held" within the game: confidante to former commissioner Bud Selig; head of the search committee to determine Selig’s successor; head of MLB’s Exec Council; board member of MLBAM. Strauss writes of the allegations, "There isn't just smoke here." Organizational arrogance "may work here as a defense." The two clubs "aren't rivals" and "rarely draft within the vicinity of one another." But Cardinals ownership "should be careful." Whether this is "found to be a conspiracy or a bad frat prank, the Cardinals have warranted federal investigation." It would "be risky behavior to think the resolution will vanish after a 24-hour news cycle." Perhaps DeWitt "strikes some observers as detached." But the reality is that DeWitt "cares deeply about the fan experience at Busch Stadium" and is "acutely sensitive to suggestions that he needlessly operates the team on a shoestring." This incident has "wounded him because he knows it discolors St. Louis’ civic centerpiece" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/19). SI.com's Jay Jaffe said the incident is "going to be held over the Cardinals' heads because they seem to be very smug about this ‘best fans in baseball, best organization in baseball, the Cardinal way.’ This is going to come back and bite them on that front” (“Olbermann,” ESPN2, 6/18). MLB Commisisoner Rob Manfred said he did not have any updates on the ongoing federal investigation but added he did not see the issue as some sort of early test of his tenure as commissioner. Manfred: “Obviously it’s a difficult situation, but I think we’re more than capable of managing our way through” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
CALL & RESPONSE: DeWitt said that the club "has not heard from any concerned sponsors" regarding the incident (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/18). He also said that there was "no bad blood" between the Cardinals and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, a former Cardinals exec. He added that he has "received supportive correspondence from other organizations and received public support from the Astros after his remarks." Astros General Counsel Giles Kibbe said Astros Owner & Chair Jim Crane, Luhnow and the entire organization "have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. DeWitt and the Cardinals organization." Kibbe: "We have no doubt that they will handle this appropriately" (MLB.com, 6/18). ESPN's Israel Gutierrez said of the Cardinals' response, "They’re going to single out one person, make that person the scapegoat and get them out of the organization" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 6/18). ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said, "In the NCAA this is called ‘institutional control’ or lack of,” but the team does not “want to fire anybody on the executive level” ("PTI," ESPN, 6/18).
WHAT'S THE MOTIVE? ESPN.com's Johnette Howard wrote speculation "continues about the true motive" of the Cardinals employees being investigated for the alleged hacking of the Astros' database, but there are "numerous practical reasons that secretly accessing such a treasure of information would be desirable to a rival big league club." The details of exactly what is contained in proprietary team databases "are fascinating and show just how sophisticated, essential and downright granular big data crunching has become." Analytic systems can "connect the dots and provide insights where none were noticed before." Astros Dir of Decision Sciences Sig Mejdal said, "If you believe, as we do, that this data has predictive ability, then you're in an arms race to learn it and take advantage of it" (ESPN.com, 6/18). In Houston, Evan Drellich reported the Cardinals "had unauthorized access to Astros information" as early as '12, "a year earlier than was previously known." Determining "how much damage was done to the Astros monetarily would be a difficult task, but likely an important one for the team to undertake even if they don’t step foot into court" (CHRON.com, 6/18).
EXTRA! EXTRA! In St. Louis, Dan Caesar writes the scandal, dubbed "Hackgate" by some, "has been quite the national story this week, drawing attention from media outlets covering news as well as sports." Both CNN and "CBS Evening News" reported on the incident. ESPN's Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have "had a spirited debate" on "PTI" about what Kornheiser "called the 'blockbuster story.'" In addition, Bob Costas "addressed the matter to a national audience Wednesday morning on NBC's 'Today' show" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/19).
