Lucroy Weighs In On Astros’ Cheating Scandal

Former Louisiana Ragin' Cajun Jonathan Lucroy played for three different teams in the AL West and knows too well about the Houston Astros.

Lucroy, who played for the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's and Los Angeles Angels, said he would be changing signs after each pitch to combat the Astros stealing signs in an article on ESPN.com.

"I knew about that two years ago, that it was going on," Lucroy said. "I know it just recently came out. Everyone in baseball [knew], especially in that division that played against them. But we were all aware of the Astros doing those things and it was up to us to outsmart them, I guess you could say.

"It's kind of hard when you have a computer program that breaks your signs. We actively changed signs. Every single pitch, we were changing signs. You had to because they would relay them to second, stealing them from first, too -- from between your legs. They had a very intricate system going on. We were well aware of it and it was a challenge. It was a mental challenge to really overcome that. It's easier said than done. But it's a shame and I'm glad it came out and it came to light."

Lucroy, who recently signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, said pitcher Mike Fiers, the first to talk about the sign stealing publicly, informed Lucroy about the ruse when they became teammates with Oakland.

Lucroy said he believes the players who were involved should be punished, much like the steroid users in Major League Baseball.