Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press spoke with Twins utilityman Marwin González today about the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. He voiced remorse:
“I’m remorseful for everything that happened in 2017, for everything that we did as a group and for the players that were affected directly by us doing this. I wish I could take it back and do it a different way, but there’s nothing we can do. I just want to move forward and focus on the 2020 team. We have a great team. Unfortunately, this is a trial for this special group of guys. I don’t want it to be that way.”
González was a key member of that World Series winning Astros club, and enjoyed his best season by far in 2017, hitting .303/.377/.530 with 23 homers. While he fell off in 2018, his two-year, $21 million deal with Minnesota was in large part a function of what he did the year before and the belief that that was closer to his true level.
There’s no way to really know how much González was benefitted by the sign-stealing, but between the ring and the contract, it’s safe to say that things went well for him in Houston.