Old Justin Verlander Comment on Sign Stealing Comes off as So Hypocritical

The MLB sign-stealing scandal, spearheaded by the Houston Astros, was tough to see coming for most baseball fans. For those in the game, however, it was always apparent something was off at Astros home games.

While he was still a member of the Detroit Tigers, Verlander made a simple statement that now rings hollow given the facts.

"It's not about gamesmanship anymore. It used to be: 'Hey, if you can get my signs, good for you.' In the past, if a guy on second (base) was able to decipher it on a few pitches, I guess that was kind of part of the game," Verlander said. "I think it's a different level now. It's not good."

Yeah, about that.

In fairness to JV this was prior to the trade which sent him from MoTown to Houston, but it also speaks to the hypocrisy involved, as Verlander reaped the benefits of this shocking level of cheating, riding sign stealing to his first World Series title in 2017.

Verlander might escape this entire travesty unscathed considering he's spent most of his career elsewhere. Thankfully, his accolades aren't directly tied to these shenanigans.