The swirling controversy over information allegedly gleaned illegally from the internal database of the Houston Astros and published on Deadspin.com continues to grow.
The controversy started on Monday when Deadspin published the information from an Astros shorthand version of ten months of attempted deals with other teams, a version nicknamed “Ground Control.” “Ground Control” may have been vulnerable because it underwent major upgrades in the summer of 2013, roughly the same time that marks the beginning of the information that was leaked.
Later on Monday, the Astros told MLB.com that some of the information was exaggerated or made up. They said:
Last month, we were made aware that proprietary information held on Astros’ servers and in Astros’ applications had been illegally obtained. Upon learning of the security breach, we immediately notified MLB security who, in turn, notified the FBI. Since that time, we have been working closely with MLB security and the FBI to determine the party, or parties, responsible. This information was illegally obtained and published, and we intend to prosecute those involved to the fullest extent.
It is unfortunate and extremely disappointing that an outside source has illegally obtained confidential information. While it does appear that some of the content released was based on trade conversations, a portion of the material was embellished or completely fabricated.
Buster Olney of ESPN reported at midday Monday, “The Astros have been reaching out to folks around baseball apologizing for information that leaked on Deadspin today. Statement coming soon.”
Deadspin claimed they got their information from Anonbin, a site where information can be posted anonymously. Some of the trades and deals supposedly discussed by the Astros included offering a possible $64 million to acquire Jose Abreu; an attempt to sell Bud Norris for top-rate prices before ultimately settling for considerably less; trying to obtain hot prospects Dylan Bundy and Gregory Polanco, rebuffing an attempt by the Miami Marlins to trade Giancarlo Stanton to the Astros for hot prospects Carlos Correa and George Springer. The information also detailed how the New York Yankees were willing to trade Ichiro Suzuki to the Astros even if they had to pay $4.5 million of his $6.5 million salary.
GM Jeff Luhnow conducted an interview with reporters late Monday in which he answered questions about the debacle. He said:
It’s a very unfortunate circumstance. When somebody illegally from the outside breaks into (a) proprietary database that we have, not all the information that was published is accurate. Some of it is not. I really can’t get into what was accurate and what wasn’t. Some of it was. But it was an illegal activity and we’re going to pursue it and try and find out who did it and prosecute them because it’s not something that should be happening. We’re doing everything we can to upgrade our security so it doesn’t happen again. We’ve been working on that since we discovered this. But it’s unfortunate that it’s out there and it’s unfortunate that other teams are affected and individual players. It’s a reflection of the age we are living in. People are always trying to steal information, get information, whether it’s legally or illegally, and in this case it was illegally obtained and it’s unfortunate.
Asked if he would pursue prosecution of the writers at Deadspin, Luhnow responded, “I can’t answer that. I mean the FBI’s involved, we’ve got MLB security involved and we’re going to prosecute whoever the party that illegally obtained the information. That’s as far as I know right now.”
Luhnow acknowledged that the hacker was from outside of the Astros’ organization, and said he couldn’t comment on the ongoing investigation. He admitted that security had now been sufficient, but the system’s security apparatus had been upgraded. He was contrite about the release of the information damaging other teams as well as the feelings of the Astros’ players, but added that they had been understanding.
Luhnow asserted that because of the leak, he conducts his business using a pencil and paper, and told reporters that other teams had been supportive but that he was certain they were unhappy about what had transpired. He commented regarding the leak, “It definitely was an evil activity.”
Asked if Deadspin had contacted him before they ran the story, Luhnow said , “No. I don’t think that’s their M.O.” Later, Deadspin tweeted that they had contacted someone unnamed in the Astros front office; Luhnow said he hadn’t heard about it.
“It’s frustrating,” Luhnow concluded. “All we can do is look as hard as we can to make sure this doesn’t happen. That’s what we’re going to do. When you’re attacked criminally by an unknown source, an unknown entity, it’s frustrating. You don’t know. We have law enforcement and they will do whatever they need to do.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.