Altuve denies wearing electronic device in wild day of theories, accusations
Sign-stealing with the help of garbage can lids is starting to seem quaint.
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve issued a statement through his agent, Scott Boras, on Thursday to deny allegations that he wore a buzzer under his uniform.
"I have never worn an electronic device in my performance as a major-league player," Altuve said, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Additionally, Major League Baseball issued a statement saying it found no proof of this behavior.
"MLB explored wearable devices during the investigation but found no evidence to substantiate it," the league said, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.
Altuve and MLB's statements came after someone claiming to be Carlos Beltran's niece tweeted that Altuve and Alex Bregman wore electronic devices that buzzed on the inside of their right shoulders. The person specifically cited the home run Altuve hit off New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman to win the 2019 ALCS.
Beltran's niece tweeting about the buzzers, which matches up with what Ive been told from about 5 different parties. pic.twitter.com/zla70bW0Wu
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) January 16, 2020
Cincinnati Reds right-hander Trevor Bauer also tweeted that he's heard from multiple sources that Bregman and Altuve wore electronic devices.
Beltran's family came out afterward and said the person claiming to be Beltran's niece isn't related to them in any way, according to Marly Rivera of ESPN. Not long after, Gary Sheffield Jr. suggested the tweets came from a player using a burner account pretending to be Beltran's niece.
Amateur conspiracy theorists and sleuths pointed to a video of Altuve asking his teammates not to remove his shirt after his homer against the Yankees as further evidence that he wore an electronic device. Altuve also left the field to put a different shirt on before joining his teammates to celebrate.
“The rest of the organization is celebrating on the field, should I join them? ...No I need to go put a different top on. Immediately.”pic.twitter.com/qxsKUqTQuu
— Starting 9 (@Starting9) January 16, 2020
When asked about why he didn't want his shirt ripped off, Altuve said he was "too shy."
While the league says it found no evidence that any Astros players were wearing electronic devices, it's become a topic of discussion and speculation. Los Angeles Dodgers slugger, and reigning NL MVP, Cody Bellinger is one who remains hopeful the Astros didn't resort to wearing buzzers under their uniforms.
"For the sake of the game, I hope this isn't true," Bellinger tweeted. "If true, there needs to be major consequences to the players. That completely ruins the integrity of the game!!!"