Luhnow said the cheating scheme was wrong, and it should never have happenedGETTY IMAGES
Former Astros President of Baseball Operations & GM Jeff Luhnow said that he was "not aware the team was using electronic means to steal signs from opponents in 2017-18 and that the system 'made no sense' given the team’s talent," according to David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Luhnow said that his claim of innocence is "bolstered by information contained in thousands of text messages involving team video room personnel that he received after he was fired" by Astros Owner Jim Crane in January. It is among Luhnow's first public comments since Jan. 13, when he said after he and manager A.J. Hinch were fired that he "did not 'direct, oversee or engage in any misconduct' by the Astros." Luhnow said the cheating scheme “was wrong, and it should never have happened, and I’m upset ... for our fans; I’m upset for players on other teams that gave up hits as a result of this that should never have happened. If we won games because of it, it should never have happened, and we didn’t need to do it.” Barron notes Luhnow also "distanced himself from another matter related to the Astros’ cultural issues cited by Manfred: the profane, insensitive remarks directed by one of his assistants, Brandon Taubman, to a group of female reporters in the Astros’ clubhouse" in October '19 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/20).
