Marwin Gonzalez Addresses Media, Expresses Regret

[John Bonnes]

Minnesota Twins super-utility player Marwin Gonzalez addressed the media about his participation in the Houston Astros electronically-based sign-stealing scandal. He started with an apology. “I'm remorseful for everything that happened in 2017, for everything that we did as a group, and for the players that were affected directly by us by doing this and some other things," said Gonzalez. "That's why I feel more regret, and that's why I'm remorseful.”Gonzalez obviously wanted to make it clear that he most regretted how it impacted the fraternity of fellow ballplayers, some of who are on his team this year. Twins reliever Rich Hill was on the Los Angeles Dodgers team that the Astros beat in the World Series. Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios was hit hard by the Astros in 2017 in his road start against them. Gonzalez plans to talk to them specifically.

“I just got here yesterday,” said Gonzalez.

 

“Obviously, we're teammates now and we're going to have a great relationship as I spend more time with these guys as a young family. Hopefully it's eight months, including spring training. That means that we're going to fight in the playoffs and try to bring a championship back to this city. That's plenty of time to talk. I'm sure we're going to have a great relationship.”

 

The 2017 Astros won the World Series and Marwin Gonzalez had a career year, posting career-high numbers. It was later revealed that the Astros used electronic means to steal signals and then signal batters by banging a trash can in the dugout. Gonzalez was the recipient of more “bangs” than any other Astro, and his chase percentage on offspeed pitches point to him gaining a significant advantage that year.

 

Gonzalez, a Scott Boras client, signed a two-year, $21 million contract with the Twins in late February 2019. The multi-positional every day player will be a free agent at the end of the 2020 season.

 

MLB decided that the players involved in the cheating scandal would not be fined or suspended. In recent weeks, we have heard from former Astros players such as Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton. Morton talked at Rays camp on Monday and said, “Personally, I regret not doing more to stop it. I don’t know what that would have entailed.”

 

Penalties and suspensions have been levied against Astros' management and their general manager and manager were both fired. They were also fined the maximum amount allowed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement and lost four draft picks, their first- and second-round picks in 2020 and 2021.

 

This was Gonzalez's first time talking publicly about the revelations. He was not at Twins Fest last month as he continued to rehab from offseason knee surgery. After his media scrum, he communicated through the Twins that it would be the last time he addressed the topic this season.

 

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[akmanak]

Complete bs. Only reason for the regret is because he along with that cheating team got caught.

 

The punishment was a joke and the commish has zero clue when dealing with anything baseball. I will stay on topic but times like these I want Selig in there.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

The punishment was a joke and the commish has zero clue when dealing with anything baseball

The MLBPA would have fought any punishment the commissioner tried to levy against players, and the commissioner would have lost such a fight because the burden of proof would be so high. (A lot higher than counting the number of "bangs" in each player's plate appearances.)

 

The commissioner was able to punish the teams, front offices, and managers because their employment isn't protected by a union and collective bargaining agreement. There's a much lower burden of proof involved.

[akmanak]

The MLBPA would have fought any punishment the commissioner tried to levy against players, and the commissioner would have lost such a fight because the burden of proof would be so high. (A lot higher than counting the number of "bangs" in each player's plate appearances.)

 

The commissioner was able to punish the teams, front offices, and managers because their employment isn't protected by a union and collective bargaining agreement. There's a much lower burden of proof involved.

Great point but why not at least attempt to be more harsh and than when it doesn't work you can have the punishment that you have now?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Great point but why not at least attempt to be more harsh and than when it doesn't work you can have the punishment that you have now?

So basically, go ahead with a lawsuit that you know is frivolous? Plenty of reasons not to do that. Many are probably the same reasons why Selig didn't come down hard on steroid users before the testing procedures were in place.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I don’t like that the players got away with it but have come to accept why it happened that way.

 

What bothers me even more are the indications that MLB knew about some of this stuff long ago and instead of doing something, sat still and hoped it would just go away.

[scottz]

I appreciate that he discussed it at all. However...

• "...he communicated through the Twins that it would be the last time he addressed the topic this season."

"I'm sorry. But now that it's behind us, let's all just move on. I'm remorseful. I'm just not *that* remorseful."

[SomeGuy]

 

Complete bs. Only reason for the regret is because he along with that cheating team got caught.

The punishment was a joke and the commish has zero clue when dealing with anything baseball. I will stay on topic but times like these I want Selig in there.

I don't know if Selig is the best example of someone to dole out punishment. He did everything he could to ignore the PED issue.

[twinsnorth49]

I'm guessing he's not too remorseful about the $21 million he cashed in on after his "career year". Ill gotten gains imo, bit of a fraud. 

[bighat]

Smart move by Marwin to just get out there and apologize and now he can move on and focus on 2020. Which is what we all want him to do....right?

 

I for one am all for punishing the Astros organization and stripping their World Series banner from the rafters. But, as others have said, there's no way you can just suspend 20+ major leaguers without hurting their CURRENT teams (aka the Twins) who had nothing to do with these shenanigans.

 

 

[jimbo92107]

If I were an opposing team's catcher with Gonzo up, I'd be muttering about hearing somebody banging a trash can every other pitch. Fastball, high and in. 

[USAFChief]

 

Complete bs. Only reason for the regret is because he along with that cheating team got caught.

The punishment was a joke and the commish has zero clue when dealing with anything baseball. I will stay on topic but times like these I want Selig in there.

Players were granted immunity at the start of the investigation, in an attempt to get to the truth. 

 

In addition, the letter the commissioner sent out in 2017, specifically addressing this issue, make clear GMs and Managers would be held accountable for violations.

 

 

[USAFChief]

 

I don’t like that the players got away with it but have come to accept why it happened that way.

What bothers me even more are the indications that MLB knew about some of this stuff long ago and instead of doing something, sat still and hoped it would just go away.

I think the fact the Commissioner sent out a letter in September, 2017 to all teams is pretty clear proof they DID know, or suspect, what was happening. But at that point, what else would you have him do? 

 

 

[Drew]

 

So basically, go ahead with a lawsuit that you know is frivolous? Plenty of reasons not to do that. Many are probably the same reasons why Selig didn't come down hard on steroid users before the testing procedures were in place.

 

It's not frivolous at all, there is inarguable evidence of wrongdoing and putting all of the evidence in public light and trying to hold the players accountable not only has value but seems pretty clearly the right thing to do. To me the ONLY reason not to do that is you want the story out of the news cycle asap.

 

If there was video evidence of players injecting themselves with steroids I would bet that even Selig wouldn't have given the players immunity. 

 

This whole thing is very sad and Marwin Gonzalez is the first Twins player that I have ever disliked. 

[cmoss84]

I would love it if ONE time a player would say, "I'm sorry I got caught cheating." They would look bad, but at least in a refreshingly honest way!

 

There is probably less than 1% chance the Twins drop Marwin. I know this discussion was in another thread. The more I think about it, I would be okay if they did drop him. Maybe THAT'S why we sold that draft pick! To Pay for Marwin and drop him! 

 

 

[SwainZag]

 

Players were granted immunity at the start of the investigation, in an attempt to get to the truth. 

 

In addition, the letter the commissioner sent out in 2017, specifically addressing this issue, make clear GMs and Managers would be held accountable for violations.

 

People don't seem to understand this.  If immunity wasn't given to players, no one would have talked and it would all be a witch hunt to try and figure out what happened. We would have bangs, but that would be about it.  With the immunity we have heard how they did it and the commish's office acted accordingly.  You can't tell people they won't be punished and then turn around and punish them, that's not how this works.

[dex8425]

I mean, he's the first position player to apologize, so that's something. Bregman and Altuve's comments were disgusting and really made me dislike both of them even more.

 

I'm still convinced they used buzzers (and/or some other way of using codebreaker in real time to the hitter without using banging) but the commissioner's report did not mention that. 

 

I think the MLB is trying to sweep this under the rug as quickly as possible. I think there's a correlation between the release of the new playoff format and AJ Hinch's press conference where he didn't deny using buzzers as well. MLB wants so badly to make everyone think it was just the trashcans for that one season and for everyone to move on. 

[raindog]

 

I appreciate that he discussed it at all. However...

• "...he communicated through the Twins that it would be the last time he addressed the topic this season."

"I'm sorry. But now that it's behind us, let's all just move on. I'm remorseful. I'm just not *that* remorseful."

 

Would you like it to remain a distraction for him and the team? What else can he say? He took part in it. His apology seems sincere. Time to move on. 

[CharlieDee]

I hope he does truly feel remorseful about what happened at Houston.  Just DO NOT bring that crap to Minnesota. 

[dex8425]

 

I would love it if ONE time a player would say, "I'm sorry I got caught cheating." They would look bad, but at least in a refreshingly honest way!

They probably honestly don't think of themselves as a cheater. Before they make a decision to cheat, they rationalize it as not being cheating in their mind, and thus can accept themselves doing it. Heard it with Lance, heard it with Barry, heard it with asbel kiprop, heard it with Pineda.

 

"everyone else is doing it"

"it doesn't provide that much of an advantage."

"it probably didn't even help."

"I never failed a drug test"

"My superiors told me to do it, and I wanted to keep my job; I have to provide for my family"

 

[jkcarew]

Is he more guilty than Polanco or Pineda because he hasn't been punished? He's not in control of punishment. Was his 'apology' any more dissatisfying than the 'apologies' offered by Polanco and Pineda? No and No. I'll say it again to anyone that can't stand the idea of Gonzalez being on the club: would you like the Twins to drop Polanco and Pineda as well?

[Craig Arko]

 

Is he more guilty than Polanco or Pineda because he hasn't been punished? He's not in control of punishment. Was his 'apology' any more dissatisfying than the 'apologies' offered by Polanco and Pineda? No and No. I'll say it again to anyone that can't stand the idea of Gonzalez being on the club: would you like the Twins to drop Polanco and Pineda as well?

And probably Nelson Cruz.

[scottz]

 

Would you like it to remain a distraction for him and the team? What else can he say? He took part in it. His apology seems sincere. Time to move on. 

I definitely don't want it to be a distraction to the team. However, I don't think he should get to dictate the timeline of discussing it just because he said he was remorseful.

I'm not sure what else he could say, but I'm certain there are other questions that could be asked where his answers could also be sincere.

• Marwin, what do you think of Mike Bolsinger's lawsuit?
• Marwin, do you think you had an unfair advantage by receiving signals from your teammates?
• Marwin, without naming names, was there anyone on the 2017 team that stated or suggested during the season that what the team was doing should stop?
• Marwin, have you spoken to any of your 2017 Astros teammates or manager about this issue since the story broke?
• Marwin, your team won the World Series in 2017. Does this story change how you feel or think about that season?

I'm sure I could come up with more questions that could be asked of him. But you know, we're done talking about it now.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I'm sure I could come up with more questions that could be asked of him. But you know, we're done talking about it now.

Buy the book! Available soon in the Twins Pro Shop.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Complete bs. Only reason for the regret is because he along with that cheating team got caught.

The punishment was a joke and the commish has zero clue when dealing with anything baseball. I will stay on topic but times like these I want Selig in there.

 

I agree with your second sentence above. The second paragraph is true.

 

But, I am curious what more people want Marwin Gonzalez (or others) to say at this point? He expressed regret. He can't really do any more than that.

[adjacent]

I think, as most expression of regret in situations like this, we can just ignore them. They say what the PR person tell them to say. 

[scottz]

 

But, I am curious what more people want Marwin Gonzalez (or others) to say at this point? He expressed regret. He can't really do any more than that.

I didn't read a full transcript of what was said today. I'm certain there are other questions people would want him to speak about.

 

Why can't he do more than what he did? There literally is no punishment for the players. He can't do more than saying he regrets it?

 

I'm not of the camp that says all the players should be kicked out, never to play again or anything like that (though I would favor some form of punishment or fine). I'm also not of the camp that says society gets to decide when someone is forgiven for whatever public wrong they have done. But it strikes me that Marwin (and probably others) wants to be seen as being remorseful without really having to answer any tough questions. And I understand wanting that - wanting it to go away. But the way to make it go away isn't by saying "I regret it" AND "I won't talk about it any more."

[lukeduke1980]

 

I mean, he's the first position player to apologize, so that's something. Bregman and Altuve's comments were disgusting and really made me dislike both of them even more.

 

I'm still convinced they used buzzers (and/or some other way of using codebreaker in real time to the hitter without using banging) but the commissioner's report did not mention that. 

 

I think the MLB is trying to sweep this under the rug as quickly as possible. I think there's a correlation between the release of the new playoff format and AJ Hinch's press conference where he didn't deny using buzzers as well. MLB wants so badly to make everyone think it was just the trashcans for that one season and for everyone to move on. 

As a fan I don't mind the circus of intrigue and conspiracy, and maybe MLB doesn't either if the buzzers were in fact pure nonsense.  Astros road attendance will probably be up this year.

[Craig Arko]

 

I agree with your second sentence above. The second paragraph is true.

 

But, I am curious what more people want Marwin Gonzalez (or others) to say at this point? He expressed regret. He can't really do any more than that.

It sounds like seppuku may be necessary. Aired on ESPN pay-per-view, of course.

[scottz]

 

It sounds like seppuku may be necessary. Aired on ESPN pay-per-view, of course.

As long as it is remorseful seppuku.