Astros: Time to dispel some crazy rumors, theories from this week

Allegations of Buzzer Use Are Ridiculous

Now to the twitterverse’s topic du jour. People who are “drunk on schadenfreude,” as ESPN’s Jeff Passan perfectly put it, have accused Astros players such as Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick of wearing buzzers attached to their bodies in 2019 as a way to be notified of what pitch is being thrown.

First, let’s take these allegations with a grain of salt or two, as the people making them simply want to see the Astros vilified and torn down even more. The club is a scapegoat, and these people are happy to see it happen. Their motives are far from pure.

And of course there’s no proof of any of this. In fact, the Reddick accusation was debunked, as the photo in question was of a piece of confetti that had stuck to his chest rather than a piece of tape or a bandage. For Altuve, apparently him not wanting his teammates to rip his jersey off following his 2019 ALCS-clinching home run is evidence enough that he was wearing a buzzer.

If any of these people were capable of using logic, they would surely realize that if Altuve really were wearing a buzzer under his jersey, his teammates would be aware of it as well, and thus would’ve already known not to pull it off. But instead they stick to their theories like pine tar on George Brett‘s bat.

Add in the fact that the league confirmed it found no evidence of any rule breaking by the Astros in 2019, and you can consider that accusation debunked as well. If anyone has real evidence — and not just a photo of a random wrinkle in someone’s jersey — let’s hear it. Otherwise get a grip.