Inside MLB’s Astros cheating investigation: GM Jeff Luhnow deleted phone data
The Astros ‘ shine had vanished, and according to a letter of inquiry that Rob Manfred issued to Jeff Luhnow , data on Luhnow’s cell phone had also vanished after being deleted by Luhnow. Major League Baseball’s inspectors launched a full-scale investigation after reading The Athletic’s report. MLB’s detectives hadn’t always been ready to arrive, but this time, they arrived right away. Star athletes and regular fans alike flocked to Twitter to express their horror at the scandal, which resulted in an equally swift backlash. Speaking at the winter meetings in mid-December 2019, commissioner Manfred called the review of the Astros “probably the most thorough investigation that the commissioner’s office has ever undertaken.” The investigation took about two months The league’s department of investigations would interview 68 persons over the course of two months, including 23 Astros players, and gather more than 76,000 emails. Slack messages and mobile devices were also included in...