Astros security to Nats fan: Change your T-shirt

The Houston Astros have had a tough time living down the infamous “sign-stealing” scandal that erupted in 2017. The team’s fan base doesn’t need a blatant reminder of the scandal from opposing fans visiting Minute Maid Park.

So when a Washington Nationals fan showed up at the gate for Friday’s game wearing a T-shirt bearing the message, “Bang Foul Poles Not Trash Cans,” security workers thought that was a really bad idea. Players on that 2017 team used several different signals, including banging on a trash can, as cues to signal what pitch was coming.

Security gave the fan, identified on social media as Ali, an option — she could turn the T-shirt inside out and enter the game. Ali did just that, and got inside.

Many fans on X/Twitter called the Astros “soft” for ordering the message covered up. There were some rumbles about First Amendment rights. Yet it really is a security issue. Reminders of the Astros’ scandal still evoke strong emotions in many of the team’s fans. Who knows what might have happened if Ali had encountered one of those fans having a really bad day.

Did any fans follow that reasoning? No. They went with the “soft” angle.

[John Ourand]

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