Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles said he was unaware of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal when he played with the team.
As the fallout of the
Astros' sign-stealing scandal continues to rock baseball, Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles said he'd give back his 2017 World Series ring if MLB asks for it."Whatever they ask, I would oblige. Because what was going on at the time was not OK," Giles, who pitched for the Astros from 2016-18, told the Toronto Star.
Giles's comments come after multiple players around MLB have spoken out about Commissioner Rob Manfred's handling of Houston's cheating scheme. In January, MLB released a nine-page report detailing how the team stole opponents' signs during the 2017-18 regular seasons and postseasons. Manfred suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow through the 2020 World Series, but owner Jim Crane subsequently fired them. MLB discovered Houston used a trash-can banging scheme in 2017 to alert batters of incoming pitches.
Astros players were not punished for their roles in the scheme but were promised immunity for their testimony in the investigation. Many critics have called for MLB to strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series title.
Although Giles was a part of the 2017 squad, he said he was unaware of the sign-stealing operation since he sat in the bullpen until he appeared late in games.
"I was not aware about anything," he said. "It crushed me to learn about the stuff that went on when I was there. I had no idea. ...I was blindsided by the commissioner's report. Up until then, I honestly didn't believe it."
Giles's time with the Astros went downhill before his trade to the Blue Jays in 2018. After recording 34 saves in 2017, he struggled in the postseason and gave up one run in seven appearances and lost the closer job during the World Series against the Dodgers. The time before his trade to Toronto was also marred by his clashes with Hinch.
Giles is the second member of the Astros' 2017 roster who said he'd be willing to give up his World Series ring. Mike Fiers, the whistleblower who exposed Houston's scheme, said it wouldn't be "the end of the world" to hand back his hardware.
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