SB Nation FanPulse members think the Astros’ punishment wasn’t harsh enough

Welcome to SB Nation FanPulse, a survey of fans across MLB. During the baseball season, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Cubs fans, sign up HERE to join FanPulse.

It’s not baseball season, but we have certainly had big news this week with punishments handed down in the Astros cheating scandal, and other revelations including three managers losing their jobs. So the folks at SB Nation FanPulse sent out a quick survey Friday to see what you were thinking about some of the issues surrounding this scandal.

First, about the punishments handed down:

A solid majority of voters think the punishments could have been more severe. I tend to agree, although at least one of those punishments (the $5 million fine) was limited by Major League Baseball’s constitution. Exact numbers: 33 percent yes, 67 percent no.

The next question regarded various scandals in MLB history:

I agree with the plurality of voters here who said the Black Sox scandal was the worst. That sort of thing — which was allegedly common in the decade preceding — was only stopped with a Commissioner named and players banned for life. You could make an argument that the current scandal ought to be at least second-worst, because that also goes to the integrity of the game. Exact numbers: Question 2: 43 percent Black Sox, 28 percent steroids, 25 percent Astros sign-stealing, 4 percent Pete Rose.

The next question was in regard to whether the Astros should lose their 2017 World Series championship:

This is a pretty close vote, and I agree with the “no” voters. Just as with the alleged PED-enhanced home run totals of the so-called Steroid Era, these events happened. You can’t just erase them. Jayson Stark of The Athletic laid out the reasons you can’t really “vacate” this trophy much better than I could, and you should read his article to find out why the past should be left as is. Exact numbers: 49 percent yes, 51 percent no.

Lastly, a large majority of FanPulse voters said those involved should never be allowed to work in MLB again:

Exact numbers: 38 percent yes, 62 percent no.

As noted above, you can sign up for FanPulse anytime and have your voice heard when these surveys resume during the 2020 baseball season.