Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer once called out Astros owner Jim Crane for "lying" in wake of sign-stealing scandal

No MLB fan will ever forget about the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal in 2017. The scandal caused an uproar in the MLB community, leaving many teams and players, including Trevor Bauer, upset.

MLB conducted an investigation and found that the Astros used a camera to transmit signs from the catcher. They banged on trash cans to indicate to the hitter what kind of pitch he was going to receive.

As a result, former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for a season. The Astros received a $5 million fine and were forced to forfeit future draft picks. But the team was not stripped of the World Series title it won in 2017.

In an interview with Bob Nightengale in 2020, Bauer responded to a press conference in which Astros owner Jim Crane said that their sign-stealing scheme “didn’t impact the game" and that they would have won the World Series regardless.

Bauer described the Astros as "hypocrites" and Crane as a liar.

“I’m not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters. You’re either lying or you’re a f*****g idiot. And you don’t become a billionaire owner of a team by being a f*****g idiot. So, you’re lying.”

On his Twitter account, Bauer let the fans know his true thoughts on the punishment received by the team.

He wrote:

"Let’s say someone messes up. Messes up bigly, even. And the truth is that they really don’t care about messing up. At all. In fact, they would do it all over again, and you know this. Asking for a friend, would you rather receive: Truth or fake apology?"

Trevor Bauer ready to play in Nippon Professional Baseball

San Francisco Giants v Los Angeles Dodgers

Bauer was recently released by the Los Angeles Dodgers after serving a suspension for allegedly assaulting a woman in San Diego. He was signed by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The Dodgers still have to pay Bauer a whopping $22.5 million this season.

During a press conference in Japan, Bauer said he was excited to start a new chapter of his career.

"I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to pitch again. I've always wanted to play in Japan."