By William J. Robers, Esq.
Can one bad 1/3 inning torpedo an entire career? According to Mike Bolsinger, the answer is yes. Nearly 100 years after the “Black Sox” scandal rocked the professional baseball world, the Houston Astros are facing a similar backlash and a number of lawsuits related to cheating during the 2017 season and their run to the 2017 World Series Championship. Included in these lawsuits is at least one former player alleging that he lost his job because of the sign-stealing scheme perpetrated by the Astros.
According to a complaint filed on February 10, 2020, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, former Toronto Blue Jays’ reliever, Mike Bolsinger, claims that he lost his job as a direct consequence of the Astros’ sign-stealing practice in 2017. He is suing the Houston Astros seeking consequential and general damages for the damage to his career, as well as an estimated $31 million to be given to various charities. On February 20, 2020, Bolsinger added Astros owner, Jim Crane, and director of team operations, Derek Vigoa, to the lawsuit. The suit was brought in Los Angeles under the theory that it is where the Astros won the 2017 World Series and that a number of member-investors of the Astros reside in Los Angeles.
In November 2019, The Athletic published an article alleging that the Houston Astros electronically stole signs during their 2017 run to the World Series Championship. Former Astros Pitcher, Mike Fiers, went on the record to admit that his former team used an electronic sign-stealing scheme in 2017, including during the World Series. On January 13, 2020, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the scheme, and alleged that it occurred throughout the 2017 regular season and postseason and in early 2018. According to the reports, the Astros positioned a camera in center field, in such a position to steal signs from opposing catchers. Team personnel from the Astros would watch the feed near the dugout, and would reportedly relay which pitch was coming to the hitter through the use of banging on a garbage can. According to an article from The Athletic published on January 31, 2020, Astros hitters made historic improvements at making contact with the ball in 2017, purportedly as a result of such sign stealing. In 2016, Astros hitters struck out 1,452 times, reducing that number to 1,087 in 2017. That was the fewest number of strike outs for any MLB team in 2017.
As a result of the Commissioner’s report, Astros Manager, A.J. Hinch, and General Manager, Jeff Luhnow, were both fired. New York Mets Manager, Carlos Beltran (a member of the 2017 Astros), and Boston Red Sox Manager, Alex Cora (the bench coach for the 2017 Astros), were also fired. The fall-out from the scheme has been felt all across the sports world, and especially in the MLB. Many fellow players, front-office personnel, reporters and fans were shocked and dismayed at the alleged scheme. On January 21, 2020, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution requesting that Major League Baseball strip the 2017 Houston Astros and the 2018 Boston Red Sox of their World Series titles and award the trophies to the 2017 and 2018 runners-up, the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Boston is also embroiled in its own sign-stealing scandal related to the 2018 season.) Bolsinger’s suit is just one of many faced by the Houston Astros.
In the lawsuit, Bolsinger, now 32, makes claims against the Astros for (1) commission of Unfair Business Practices under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 17200 et seq., (2) negligence, (3) intentional interference with contractual relations, and (4) intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic relations. He seeks two categories of damages, including consequential and general damages for the harm to his career, and restitution of the post-season bonuses earned by the Astros from winning the 2017 World Series, in the approximate amount of $31 million, to be given to “charitable causes focused on bettering the lives of children” and a fund for retired baseball players in need of financial assistance. Bolsinger alleges that, as a result of the sign stealing scheme, he lost his job as a major league pitcher. He never pitched in the major leagues again after giving up four runs to the Astros on August 4, 2017, in only 1/3 inning pitched. Bolsinger alleges that the Astros had decoded and stolen the signs for essentially every one of his 29 pitches during the game on August 4, 2017. The lawsuit provides that after his performance in that game (a 16-7 loss to the Astros, in which he faced eight batters, allowed three walks, a home run, a double and RBI singles), “Bolsinger was no longer seen as a successful relief pitcher that could be trusted in this role and was not picked up by the Blue Jays for the following year.” Bolsinger went on to become one of the best pitchers in the Japanese professional baseball league in 2018, but he “is currently a free agent hoping to secure a job in the United States for the 2020 season.”
The lawsuit is just one of many filed against the team and other parties that stem from the sign-stealing scandal. Will the court insert itself into the business of Major League Baseball? Will it hold the Astros responsible for the business decisions of the Toronto Blue Jays in demoting Bolsinger? If the suit makes it to trial, it will be an interesting inside look at the potential consequences of the Astros sign-stealing scheme, and the decisions made in the front office when deciding whether or not to retain a relief pitcher. The Houston Astros are likely to seek an early dismissal of the action based on the idea that a professional team cannot have civil liability to an opposing player under such facts. Whether such a motion would be likely to be granted is unknown, given that Bolsinger’s lawsuit appears to be one of first impression when it comes to the effects of cheating in professional sports on other teams and their athletes.
Eight members of the White Sox were banned for life by the Commissioner of Baseball for their involvement in the “Black Sox” scandal. What happens to the members of the Houston Astros involved in the sign-stealing scheme remains to be seen. This case is one of the first of certainly many facing the Houston Astros in the aftermath of the revelations of cheating.
Robers is a Shareholder at Sparks Willson, P.C. and Lecturer of Sports Law at the University of Colorado — Colorado Springs
