Steven Souza Jr. reiterates Astros as “scape goats”

Over a year ago, Steven Souza Jr. sat in the Houston Astros‘ dugout in West Palm Beach, Fla., as a non-roster invite. A question mark on who the fourth outfielder was his chance of making it back to the major leagues.

Souza didn’t make it out of camp, being released a few weeks in after struggling to barrel the ball at the dish. The right-hander took reps at first base to versatile his game but found himself on a postseason roster with the Los Angeles Dodgers by October.

Although forgotten by some, Souza’s prominent social media presence sparked conversation last spring, as he was a supporter of Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer and his knowledge of the game. Souza didn’t make many friends from those Astros fans on Twitter with this comment.

Souza looked to have rekindled the friendship that wasn’t by pointing out that the Astros weren’t the only team cheating in 2017.

Steven Souza Jr. regards the Astros as “scape goats” for illegal sign stealing in Major League Baseball.

Late Monday night, Souza replied to Twitter users, regarding a trend of listing favorite player of all-time, least favorite, most underrated, etc.

"“I know you don’t wanna hear this but those Astro guys are actually some really good human beings over there,” Souza said via Twitter in response to a Dodgers’ fan mentioning Jose Altuve as the player he dislikes."

Souza mentioned that he doesn’t deny the report on the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal, but that the Astros were the “scape goat for the rest of the league.” The outfielder understands the disappointment that fanbases may have, but according to Souza, fans are “dead wrong” to believe the Astros were the only team illegally stealing signs.

"“I hear you but if you only knew how many teams were doing it you wouldn’t be as mad at Jose Altuve,” Souza said in response to a Seattle Mariners fan."

More than half of MLB illegally stole signs, according to Souza. While he won’t mention the teams that were also participating in the act, he did say it wasn’t just the Astros and the Boston Red Sox, which many Astros faithful believe and back to date.

Souza adds to the growing list of major leaguers, who have pointed out that the Astros were not the only team stealing signs over the last five seasons. While the New York Yankees’ letter lingers through courts, the Astros will continue to take the flack for sign stealing in Major League Baseball.