The penalties MLB levied against the Astros likely will be a "big deterrent" for teams thinking of acting in a similar matter, but "more has to be done" from a league level, according to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. MLB now is "going to have to police" the use of technology during games. One MLB manager said that there needs to be "some sort of marshal of sorts in the dugout" and that a rule needs to be passed that team personnel are "not allowed to leave the dugout during a game unless you're accompanied, so you're not going to look at something that you're not supposed to be looking at" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 1/15). In Dallas, Evan Grant writes MLB has to "find semi-enforceable rules regarding corruption of technology." The instant replay system "allowed for the presence of replay cameras and a replay room where a staffer or staffers could watch for erroneous calls." Teams "immediately tied to exploit the tool." Either the rule "has to change or the technology needs to be less accessible" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/15).
TIME TO TURN EVERYTHING OFF? ESPN.com's David Schoenfield wrote the Astros report and the upcoming report on the '18 Red Sox are "only the beginnings of baseball trying to figure out how to cope with the technological era." Maybe it is "time to ban all in-game uses of video" (ESPN.com, 1/14). THE ATHLETIC's Chad Jennings wrote, "Perhaps it would have been easier for the league simply to ban in-game video rooms" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/14). In Toronto, Gregor Chisholm writes MLB "should be credited for cleaning up" the Astros situation, but it "also deserves blame for creating it in the first place." Video replay centers "never should have been installed inside clubhouses" (TORONTO STAR, 1/15). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote the future of the sport "rests on fans believing that what they are watching during a given day, let alone the World Series, is fair athletic competition" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/14).
