One of the oldest adages in sports, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” is often considered as a measuring stick for what actions are allowed within the boundaries of sportsmanship. On one hand, blatant cheating is typically caught by officials and is frowned upon by all. On the other, an athlete doing anything in their power to win\u2014including trying to stretch the rules\u2014is typically admirable. I’m not condoning cheating by any means, but the parameters of the phrase had to be made clear for today’s topic to make any sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MLB World Series started on Friday of last week and a perfect example of crossing the line between trying to win and flat out cheating was on the biggest of stages. The Houston Astros are playing against the Philadelphia Phillies for the championship, and Friday night’s game was a doozy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of nine innings, the game was knotted up at 5 runs a piece and Philadelphia took a one run lead in the top of the 10th. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, the Astros brought in Aledmys Diaz to pinch hit. In a lame effort to keep the inning going, he got caught cheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n