Currently, the St. Louis Cardinals are on top of the baseball mountain, well in first place in the National League Central, and they possess the best record in all of Major League Baseball, with a record of 51-27. But off the field, there have been more pressing issues at hand.
For weeks, the big question regarding the St. Louis Cardinals has been: who hacked into the Houston Astros database (if anyone)?
Well, the question might have just been answered.
On Thursday, July 2nd, the St. Louis Cardinals fired scouting director Chris Correa, who was reported to have admitted to hacking into the database of the Houston Astros, who now play in the American League Central.
“I can confirm he was on administrative leave and subsequently was terminated Wednesday,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “At this time it’s still an ongoing investigation, and there’s really nothing more that I can add at this point.”
Attorney for Mr. Correa, Nicolas Williams, made the following prepared statement, speaking to the St. Louis Post Dispatch:
“Mr. Correa denies any illegal conduct. The relevant inquiry should be what information did former St. Louis Cardinals employees steal from the St. Louis Cardinals organization prior to joining the Houston Astros, and who in the Houston Astros organization authorized, consented to, or benefited from that roguish behavior.”
The 34-year old Correa has been a part of the Cardinals organization for over six years, and had worked closely with former scout director for the Cardinals Jeff Luhnow, who is now a member of the Houston Astros organization.
Luhnow is the current general manager of the Astros.
Also, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch report cites a source saying Correa admitted to hacking the database in order to see if Luhnow was using the club’s proprietary data. He has not leaked any data from the Houston Astros, nor has he taken place in any other hacks alleged by the FBI.
During this ongoing FBI investigation, which began during the middle of last month, neither general manager Mozeliak nor chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr. are being suspected in the hacking events that have taken place. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals have fully cooperated with FBI officials in order to resolve this issue.
Correa has declined to comment to the media on the matter.
NOTE: As this is a breaking news story, Arch City Sports will keep the situation up to date if any updates unfold.
(Taka Yanigamoto/St. Louis Cardinals)
