Astros star Jose Altuve unveils ‘terrible’ chest tattoo critics claimed was really an electronic buzzer used to steal signs during 2019 playoffs
- Houston Astros second baseman unveiled a tattoo on his chest that could exonerate him from claims he wore an electronic buzzer to steal signs in 2019
- Altuve was accused of wearing an electronic buzzer under his shirt in 2019 to steal opposing catchers’ signs, but teammate Carlos Correa has denied this
- Pictures of the tattoo have not been released, but the potentially exonerating ink was seen by reporters as Altuve changed out of his uniform at spring training
- Astros hitters were convicted of improperly stealing signs in 2017 and 2018, but claims they did so using buzzers worn on their chests in 2019 was never proven
- Those rumors were fueled by video of Altuve preventing teammates from ripping open his jersey after his walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS
- Correa has said Altuve wasn’t wearing a buzzer, but rather was preventing teammates from exposing a ‘terrible’ tattoo he got in honor his young daughter
- The tattoo’s existence supports Correa’s claim that Altuve didn’t wear a buzzer
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve does, indeed, have a tattoo on his chest, the presence of which could disprove claims he wore a buzzer under his jersey in 2019 as part of an elaborate sign-stealing scheme.
Altuve has been accused of wearing an electronic buzzer under his shirt in 2019 as part of an elaborate sign-stealing scheme, but teammate Carlos Correa has denied this, saying that his Venezuelan teammate actually has an unfinished tattoo on that area of his chest.
Pictures of the tattoo have not been released, but the potentially exonerating ink was seen by reporters as Altuve changed out of his uniform during spring training in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday. According to multiple reports, Altuve’s tattoo reads ‘Melanie,’ his three-year-old daughter’s name, and is inscribed over his heart.
Rumors that the Astros continued stealing signs in 2019 have persisted, only instead of banging a trash can to relay upcoming pitch choices to hitters, as was the case in 2017 and 2018, Houston players are accused of wearing an electronic buzzer to receive that information. Further fueling those rumors was video from Jose Altuve’s game-winning home run against the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 2019 American League Championship Series (pictured). After hitting the walk-off homer, Altuve can be seen grabbing his shirt collar, apparently preventing teammates from ripping off his jersey and exposing his chest
Jose Altuve (right) of the Houston Astros is mobbed by Alex Bregman (far left), Carlos Correa (back left) and Yuli Gurriel (back right) as he approaches home plate after hitting a walk-off home run against the New York Yankees to win Game 6 of the ALCS on October 19
The Astros have already recently been convicted by MLB for stealing opposing catchers’ signs with the improper use of a center field camera en route to a World Series title in 2017 and again in 2018. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were both suspended for a year and subsequently fired, but the Astros were not stripped of their title, nor were any players punished.
Rumors that the Astros continued stealing signs in 2019 have persisted, only instead of banging a trash can to relay upcoming pitch choices to hitters, as was the case in 2017 and 2018, Houston players are accused of wearing an electronic buzzer to receive that information.
Further fueling those rumors was video from Altuve’s game-winning home run against the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 2019 American League Championship Series. After hitting the walk-off homer, Altuve can be seen grabbing his shirt collar, apparently preventing teammates from ripping off his jersey and exposing his chest.
The MLB investigation into the sign-stealing scheme found no proof that Houston used the electronic buzzers in 2019, and Altuve has not really addressed the topic.
Jose Altuve (left) and Carlos Correa (right) celebrate the latter’s game-winning home run in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS. Correa has insisted his teammate was not wearing an electronic buzzer, which could have been used to tip him off about upcoming pitches
The absence of evidence has not stymied the suspicions of Astros’ rivals like Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger, who recently suggested Houston has been cheating for three years – not just two.
‘I think what people don’t realize is Altuve stole an MVP from (Yankees outfielder Aaron) Judge in ’17. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us,’ said Bellinger, who was on the 2017 Dodgers team that lost to the Astros in the World Series.
In an interview with MLB Network, Correa responded to Bellinger’s barbs from a day earlier, claiming that Altuve did not want his shirt removed because of his tattoo, which was unfinished at the time.
‘He’s got an unfinished tattoo on his collarbone … that honestly looked terrible,’ Correa told MLB Network. ‘It was a bad tattoo, and he didn’t want nobody to see it. He didn’t want to show it at all.’
Bellinger had surmised that Altuve didn’t want the shirt removed because he was hiding a buzzer to receive signals about what pitch might be coming.
‘Nobody wore buzzers’ in 2019, Correa said.
‘The problem I have is when players go out there and they don’t know the facts, they’re not informed on the situation and they just go out there in front of cameras and just talk. And with me, that doesn’t sit right,’ Correa added. ‘Doesn’t sit right at all.’
Correa went on: ‘He either doesn’t know how to read, is really bad at reading comprehension or is just not informed at all.’