The narrative is old. You're probably tired of hearing it, so are the players. Rob Manfred completed his investigation and didn't strip the Houston Astros of anything but draft picks.
That said, Lucas Giolito appeared on the Chris Rose Rotation podcast Tuesday to discuss the 2022 playoffs and his Chicago White Sox.
During the course of the discussion, Rose asked Giolito if the Astros needed to win a World Series in 2022 to legitimize their six year run, implying by this that the Astros weren't deserving of their 2017 ring.
Giolito though, thought differently, "Here's the thing, it's like it's all those teams were cheating then I think.
"Based on everything I've heard, it was like all the teams that were in the postseason that year were doing the same sh*t."
Hear that Los Angeles?
As a ballplayer himself, Giolito has some insightful knowledge into what his coworkers were doing, moreso than any reporter. If the teams that the Astros beat were doing the same thing, then it was a level playing field in the end.
"I think that's also kinda why the players kinda had that half-apology energy when they were apologizing for all this stuff, because they probably knew like 'Man we got caught, but everyone was kinda doing this stuff,'" Giolito said.
This sheds some light of the perspective of other players and fans who take a holier than thou approach. If other players were cheating that year then they have no right to criticize what the Astros were doing.
More must-reads: