HOUSTON – Houston Astros players are swirling in controversy after Major League Baseball reportedly investigated allegations that the players were using wearable devices during Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in 2019.
New York Post baseball columnist Joel Sherman tweeted that MLB investigated Jose Altuve’s walk-off homer during the series but found no evidence to substantiate the claims.
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Statement from Major League Baseball: “MLB explored wearable devices during the investigation but found no evidence to substantiate it.”
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) January 16, 2020
“I have never publicly worn an electronic device in my performance as a major league player,” Altuve said in a statement Thursday.
Scott Boras, who represents Altuve, said that his client is “transparent and truthful with MLB and their investigation.”
Outfielder Josh Reddick also became embroiled in the controversy as well when a photo surfaced in which it appeared that he was wearing a “buzzer” or wire on his chest. The photo in question showed Reddick on the field after the team won the ALCS in 2019.
Reddick denied that he was wearing a buzzer and said it was actually confetti.
KPRC 2 did an interview with Reddick during the champagne celebration in the locker room later that night and during the interview, Reddick can be seen picking a piece of golden confetti off of his chest.
See the video below:
Astros Outfielder Josh Reddick said it was confetti on his chest in that widely shared picture accusing Reddick of wearing a buzzer or wire. You can see him pick off the piece of gold confetti in the middle of an interview with our KPRC2 Randy McIlvoy
Posted by KPRC2 Ari Alexander on Thursday, January 16, 2020
Reddick’s wife, Jett Reddick, retweeted KPRC 2′s post and weighed in on the controversy.
“Hey you idiots, this is confetti from the celebration,” she said in a tweet. “You think he’d do an interview with it if it was something bad?"
Jett Reddick went on to retweet and reply to a variety of tweets that pointed out how ridiculous the conspiracy is.
“It’s from 2019 and it’s confetti stuck to his necklace and champagne-soaked skin people. Get a grip," one tweet said.
Another tweet had a gif of Buzz Lightyear that said: “There seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere.”
After people started pointing out that there was what appeared to be a wire under the confetti, Jett Reddick clarified her tweet.
“Apparently my first tweet should have said, “Hey you idiots this is confetti and a necklace”. I didn’t think I needed to teach grown men what a necklace looked like.”
Apparently my first tweet should have said, “Hey you idiots this is confetti and a necklace”. I didn’t think I needed to teach grown men what a necklace looked like 😂 #Astros #joshreddick pic.twitter.com/5g66FpkBK5
— Jett Reddick (@JettReddick) January 17, 2020
At the Astros Caravan on Thursday, Josh Reddick got a chance to comment on “confettigate” and only had a few words to say.
“No that’s confetti,” Josh Reddick said. “It gets ridiculous--that’s all I’ll say.”