Former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow deleted cellphone data during MLB investigation into sign theft, book reveals

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Former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow deleted cellphone data during MLB investigation into sign theft, book reveals

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Former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow wiped data from his cellphone during MLB’s investigation into the team’s sign-stealing scheme two years ago, according to The Athletic. Luhnow claimed he only deleted sensitive material involving his wife, although MLB found that Luhnow deleted backup data and other information.

Deleting telephone data is not among the violations described in Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report on the sign theft investigation. Here are more details from The Athletic, which published an excerpt from Evan Drelich’s upcoming book about the Astros scandal:

“Your credibility is further affected by the fact that you permanently deleted information from your phone and its backups in anticipation that my investigators would attempt to search your phone,” Manfred wrote to Luhnow. “You did not tell my investigators that you had done this until they brought it up to you in your second interview. Although you explained that you were simply deleting sensitive personal photos, I have no way of confirming that you did not delete incriminating evidence.”

“In addition to being subjected to two interviews by the Commissioner’s Office, the Astros and MLB had complete unfettered access to every text message I sent or received during the relevant time period,” Luhnow said. “MLB has never identified a single text that suggested I had any involvement in the case — and the League had plenty of texts to make its case. In fact, the investigation uncovered 22,000 text messages from the alleged actual participants in the sign theft. The alleged participants were openly texting in real-time about sign-stealing activity – and not a single communication implicated me, directly or indirectly, in any way, shape or form. I was not mentioned in these contemporaneous texts because I was not a party to sign acts of theft.”

Among other disciplinary measures, MLB suspended Luhnow for one year as a result of the sign-stealing scandal. Luhnow maintains his innocence despite being fired by Astros owner Jim Crane soon after the suspension was announced.

“I am not a fraud,” Luhnow said in a statement at the time. “Anyone who has worked closely with me during my 32-year career in and out of baseball can attest to my integrity. I didn’t know the rules were being broken.’

Luhnow, 55, has been mostly involved in football since being fired by the Astros. He bought Leganes soccer club from the second division of La Liga in Spain earlier this summer.



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