A closure of sorts came Monday in the St. Louis Cardinals/Houston Astros hacking scandal. Former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa was sentenced to forty-six months in prison for illegally accessing an Astros database, according to the Associated Press.
BREAKING: Ex scouting director of St. Louis Cardinals sentenced to nearly 4 years in jail for hacking Astros’ player personnel database.
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) July 18, 2016
Chris Correa Sentenced in Hacking Scandal
The sentence comes after Correa plead guilty to five counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer in January. He reportedly could have faced up to five years for each count, and was also ordered to pay $279,038 in restitution, according to the AP.
This verdict stems from 2015, when news broke that the Cardinals were under investigation for hacking into Astros databases, which contained information regarding trade discussions, proprietary statistics, and scouting reports.
According to Cardinals leadership, the investigation may be over at the government level, but there still may be some investigating left to be done on the part of Major League Baseball.
“While today’s sentencing of Chris Correa marks the end of the Government’s investigation, we also understand that the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball will now conduct its own investigation of this matter,” Cardinals CEO Bill Dewitt, Jr., said in a statement. “As we did with the Government during its investigation, we intend to fully cooperate with the Commissioner’s Office in connection with its investigation so that this matter can finally be resolved. Pending the outcome of the Commissioner’s investigation, we will have no further comment.”
The Astros have been one of the premier examples of an organization thriving off advanced analytics. Since hiring Jeff Lunhow, formerly of the Cardinals, in 2011 as general manager, the team has seen a steady increase of homegrown talent and success. Between 2009 and 2014, Houston never won more than seventy-six games in a season. Last season, they clinched a Wild Card spot and made some noise in the playoffs, eventually losing in the American league Division Series to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
As for the Cardinals, time will tell. The investigation put in place by Commissioner Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball could result in as little as a fine, or the Cards could see repercussions in the draft or international signing period (the latter being more likely).
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