Ken Giles on a scenario of Major League Baseball vacating the Houston Astros' 2017 World Series title:
“Whatever they ask, I would oblige. Because what was going on at the time was not okay… It just hurts. If they want it back, I’ll be true to whatever needs to be done. I feel awful. How the guys are being punished; they’re great people, they really are, and great ballplayers.”
Former Houston Astros closer Ken Giles, considered one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, made some shocking remarks to the Toronto Sun over the weekend, when asked about his feelings towards the notorious sign-stealing scandal that has seemingly tainted the entire Astros franchise for eternity.
Giles literally said he would give back his 2017 World Series ring if the MLB ever changed course on its punishment towards the team, and admitted how guilty and contrite he felt to be a part of one of the most egregious cheating scandals in sports history.
Giles told reporters ‘Whatever they ask, I would oblige, because what was going on at the time was not OK’.
Giles had 34 saves during the team’s 2017 championship season, and notched a 2.30 ERA, with 83 strikeouts in 62.2 innings, compared to just 81 walks. Despite his filthy stuff, Giles however, is known more an outburst he had during the 2018 season in which he was seen punching himself in the face while walking off the mound after a bad outing versus the Yankees.
Not only have fans targeted the Astros organization, but star players as well, as the league hasn’t taken the MLB’s mild punishment very well, with an unprecedented amount of players actually going public with their disdain of the cheating in a rare instance of player-on-player crime.
It’s unlikely that Carlos Correa shares the same sentiment as Giles.