"Every team in the big leagues knew what was going on" - When Blue Jays' Chris Bassitt said that Houston Astros weren't the only team cheating

Six AL West pennants, an ALCS appearance every year since 2017, two World Series titles: the Houston Astros have established themselves as a true MLB juggernaut over the past seven seasons.

However, employing underhand measures like an elaborate sign-stealing scheme has taken some shine off their recent success.

Such was the outcry, Major League Baseball launched its own investigation which concluded in 2020.

Several sanctions were handed out to the Astros, as part of which, the likes of general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended by the league and subsequently fired by Houston.

While there is no shortage of critics when it comes to the Astros, some have come out in their defense. Detroit Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera once said that hitting a baseball takes more than knowing what's coming. Others argued that sign-stealing isn't something that was invented by the Astros

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt once said that MLB only scratched the surface when it investigated the Astros for sign-stealing.

In an appearance on the Chris Rose Rotation, Bassitt said that the Houston Astros were far from being the only team stealing signs.

"We knew they were cheating. Like, we knew what was going on. Every team in the big leagues knew what was going on. This is not to open up a massive can of worms, this kind of thing.

"But like, Houston was not the only team doing stuff. Like, there was a lot of people doing stuff. It was just un—I mean, fortunately, but unfortunately, only one team essentially got caught doing it or was the guinea pig of it to like clean the whole entire league up."

Is sign-stealing the only reason why the Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series?

The sign-stealing scheme certainly gave the Houston Astros an edge over other teams, there is no question about it.

However, saying that it's the only reason they won would be looking at only half the picture. The Astros had a phenomenal season that year. They won 101 games in the regular season before going all the way.

Is it really possible to win 100+ games just by stealing signs? It isn't.