Astros: Mike Bolsinger files frivolous lawsuit over ruined career

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 23: Manager Don Mattingly #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes the ball from Mike Bolsinger #46 taking him out of the game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the six inning at AT&T Park on April 23, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 23: Manager Don Mattingly #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes the ball from Mike Bolsinger #46 taking him out of the game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the six inning at AT&T Park on April 23, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Former Major League pitcher Mike Bolsinger has taken the sign-stealing saga to a whole new level, filing a lawsuit against the Astros for his failed career.

Players, and fans alike, have been calling for everything from lifetime bans to giving up the Astros World Series Trophy as punishment for their sign-stealing ways. But this one takes the cake. Mike Bolsinger, a pitcher with a struggling career at best, is laying the blame on the Astros for his career in the Majors going south.

Bolsinger has filed a civil lawsuit against the Houston Astros through the Los Angeles Superior Court. He is seeking unspecified damages along with a monetary punishment to the tune of about $31 million. That amount just so happens to be equal to the bonuses awarded the Astros for taking the title in 2017. Among the claims, he’s alleging the team was negligent and used unfair business practices.

Apparently, he has this wild suspicion that sign-stealing during his outings in Houston is responsible for his demotion back to the Minors, and subsequently, no longer being pursued. I’ve got news for you Mr. Bolsinger, your career was in dire jeopardy long before one of the best hitting teams in the big leagues got ahold of you.

Bolsinger just happened to possess an ERA of 5.47 prior to his first 2017 meeting with the Astros and had already bounced back and forth between the Majors and Minors that season. In fact, he spent a large portion of his career traveling up and down between the two leagues.

The 2016 season wasn’t any kinder to Bolsinger as he posted a 6.83 ERA. His record over those two seasons was 1-7. In his four year MLB career, he has ended a season only once with an ERA below 5.50. Bolsinger has pitched the last couple of years in Japan and in 2019 he carried a 4.42 ERA.

As I look over Bolsinger’s record and statistics over his career, it seems that his tenure as a Major League pitcher was already on a steep downward slope and the end was inevitable. It was not at the fault of the Astros, it was simply a matter of performance, or the lack thereof.

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This whole lawsuit makes about as much sense as the man that sued the State of Michigan, claiming that the prison food caused his flatulence problem. To make matters worse, he’s requesting a trial by jury! I’ll say one final thing, if this actually goes to court, let alone win, I’ll lose faith in the great legal system of this country.