The Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, exposed in November 2019, resulted in severe penalties for the team, marking some of the most restrictive sanctions in baseball history within Major League Baseball (MLB). Members of the Houston Astros, including their general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A.J. Hinch, were disciplined due to their involvement in the team's illegal usage of a video camera system to steal signs from opposing teams during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The use of the system aided the team in winning the World Series in 2017 and losing the American League Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in 2018. The system involved a video camera in the center field seats, live feed observation behind the dugout, and audio cues like banging on a trash can to alert batters about the incoming pitch. It was long suspected by other teams but came to light publicly only in 2019 when reporters Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich at The Athletic published an article detailing the scandal. The MLB investigation confirmed that the Astros illegally used this camera system during the 2017 regular season and postseason, but found no evidence of illicit sign-stealing during the 2019 season. The Astros were fined a record $5 million and lost their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Both Luhnow and Hinch were suspended for the 2020 season, a penalty for not preventing the rule violations. The Astros only dismissed the two managers after MLB announced their punishments. Additionally, the investigation found that Red Sox manager Alex Cora had been instrumental in masterminding the Astros' sign-stealing scheme while serving as bench coach in 2017. Cora was suspended for the 2020 postseason, but was rehired after serving his suspension. Carlos Beltrán, a player from the 2017 team, was the only Astros member named in the report; he resigned from his position as manager of the New York Mets following the announcement of the results. No players were punished, as immunity was granted in exchange for their cooperation. Further revelations about the sign-stealing operation emerged in a Wall Street Journal article, indicating that it commenced during the 2016 season. In the aftermath of the scandal, numerous apologies were issued by players on the 2017 team, and the actions were criticized heavily by players on other MLB teams. The scandal caused a stir during the 2019–2020 offseason and the start of 2020 spring training, and it also instigated lawsuits against the Astros and MLB.