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Fired Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has sued the team for breach of contract, claiming he was a “scapegoat” in the wake of the Houston sign-stealing scandal while questioning the legitimacy of Major League Baseball’s three-month investigation last year.
In the lawsuit, Luhnow said he was fired to save more than $ 22 million in guaranteed wages. He is seeking more than $ 1 million in monetary relief, according to a copy of the 17-page petition filed in Harris County court Monday. Owner Jim Crane fired Luhnow for just cause, but the lawsuit said it was a breach of contract “based on the investigation and the commissioner’s erroneous conclusions.”
“The commissioner made a deal with Crane to make Luhnow the scapegoat for the cheating scandal while exonerating Crane, the players and others of their responsibilities,” the lawsuit read.
An Astros spokesperson did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment. Major League Baseball also did not immediately respond to a request.
Jeff Luhnow’s lawsuit against Astros by Houston Chronicle on Scribd
Astros players were given immunity in exchange for truthful testimony. In its investigative findings, Major League Baseball said the Houston trash hit program was “initiated and executed by lower level baseball operations employees working in conjunction with the Astros players and the former (bench coach Alex Cora).
Crane fired Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch on January 13 after commissioner Rob Manfred suspended the two for a year. Luhnow has denied knowing about the team’s plan following his dismissal. He maintained ignorance throughout this petition, one that frequently used quotation marks around the word investigation and conclusions.
Luhnow’s lawsuit calls the league’s investigation “deeply flawed.” He portrays director of preliminary information Tom Koch-Weser as the “real frontman” of the scandal which, according to the lawsuit, accused Luhnow of “saving his own job”.
The Major League Baseball investigation included 22,000 text messages and chat messages to or from Koch-Weser which, according to the lawsuit, Manfred “ignored … as part of efforts to scapegoat Luhnow.” Luhnow is not included in any of the messages, according to the petition.
The petition claims that Koch-Weser was the “only witness to claim that Luhnow mentioned the theft of electronic signs.” Luhnow’s trial calls him a “biased source that has no credibility.”
“The Astros told Koch-Weser he could keep his job as long as his actions were sanctioned by his superiors, including Luhnow,” the lawsuit said.
Koch-Weser remained employed by the Astros throughout the 2020 season.
Luhnow’s lawsuit attempted to demonstrate his support for baseball’s crackdown on electronic sign theft during the 2017-19 seasons. In the Major League Baseball report, Manfred accused Luhnow of “(failing) to take adequate steps to ensure his club was playing by the rules.”
Following an Apple Watch incident between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Manfred issued a memorandum to all clubs regarding the theft of electronic signs in September 2017. In it, the commissioner said that a team’s general manager and field manager would be held accountable for any future rule violations. According to Major League Baseball’s investigation, Luhnow never forwarded this memo to his team.
Luhnow’s lawsuit states that, throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he “repeatedly asked Astros staff to abide by MLB rules governing the theft of electronic signs.” He cites a spring training rules meeting between Luhnow, Hinch, Astros coaching staff and baseball chief Joe Torre – in which all 30 teams participate throughout the spring.
According to Luhnow’s lawsuit, Torre sent a memo in March regarding electronic equipment in shelters to Luhnow, Deputy General Manager Brandon Taubman, and President of Business Operations Reid Ryan.
In April, Luhnow observed an Astros trainer knocking with a dugout phone, called the video playback room to ask why and, according to the lawsuit, “took no further action after receiving a satisfactory explanation that the use of the canoe phone in this case did not violate any rule. “
A month later, Luhnow claimed to have forwarded two of Torre’s memos – one from March and another about the misuse of a dugout phone – to Hinch, Koch-Weser and Taubman. According to the lawsuit, Luhnow wrote pre-playoff emails in 2018 and 2019 to team and league officials who said the Astros would not engage in any harmful activity.
“We believe in a level playing field,” Luhnow wrote to league officials in 2018, “and I will do everything in my power to achieve this result.
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