Yeah, but as time goes by we're finding out that's more universal than we want to admit, too. The Cardinals (hacking - wait for it - the Astros) and Red Sox (basically doing the same thing Houston did) were using sophisticated cheating mechanisms, too - and those are the ones we know about.
What do we not know about?
As a reminder - at the exact same time as the Pete Rose investigation in 1989, MLB put two UMPIRES on probation for (wait for it)...consorting with bookies and hid it until 2002 (
Report: Gambling Touched Baseball Umps - CBS News ). Guess they figured finding out UMPIRES were into gamblers (as opposed to a manager) would have destroyed the game, so they just did it all in secret.
Yeah, we can get on Houston's case, but they've still put a good team on the field.
They aren't the only ones playing fast and loose with the rules.
And I'm not even a Houston fan.