This almost sounds too good to be true, but apparently it’s for real.
According to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, when former Cardinals front office employee Chris Correa pleaded guilty to five counts of hacking the Astros’ “Ground Control” database earlier this month, it was strongly suggested by U.S. Attorney Michael Chu that a password based off David Eckstein’s name was responsible for providing access. Seriously.
Take a look for yourself with the transcript below, which includes some entertaining banter from U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes:
password, because I want to know what you thought the obscure
password was.
MR. CHU: He has changed it since then, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Well, what was it, because you say it
was obscure, similar.
MR. CHU: It was based on the name of a player who
was scrawny and who would not have been thought of to succeed
in the major leagues, but through effort and determination he
succeeded anyway. So this user of the password just liked
that name, so he just kept on using that name over the years.
THE COURT: That’s admirable.
MR. ADLER: Kind of like Magidson123.
THE COURT: Or Magidson1/2,1/4,1/3.
I like the scrawny people who succeed through
their hard work.
MR. CHU: Thank you, Your Honor.
Eckstein played three seasons with the Cardinals from 2005-2007, so there’s obviously some overlap with executives who eventually made their way over to the Astros. This includes Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow. Eckstein, of course, enjoyed a lengthy career in the majors despite checking in at just 5-foot-6 and 170 pounds. Who else could it be, really? This situation has been bizarre enough already, but an “Eckstein-based” password adds another interesting wrinkle to things.
You can read the full transcript here.
(Thanks to Emma Span for the heads up on the Eckstein angle)