There’s at least one podcast’s worth of material out there.
Did not age well
Rather than writing a sequel to “Astroball,” his 2018 book about the improbable rise of the Jim Crane/Jeff Luhnow-era Astros, former Sports Illustrated writer Ben Reiter opted for a six-episode podcast that delved into the sources and aftermath of the 2017-18 sign-stealing scandal.
The podcast, titled “The Edge,” wraps up Wednesday and Wednesday, Nov. 11, with a two-part final episode that likely will be devoted in large measure to Reiter’s interviews with Luhnow, the former general manager who was ousted along with manager A.J. Hinch in the wake of the sign-stealing revelations.
Reiter said in a recent interview that he expects the podcast to be his final word, at least for now, on the Astros’ rise and fall that has occupied much of his professional life since 2014.
He acknowledges, however, that the impact of the scandal will be lasting, both for the players and the Astros brand, and that details remain hidden about the case that will be brought into the light grudgingly, if at all.
“A lot of people are going to be very motivated to keep their lips sealed forever on this, including some very powerful people,” Reiter said. “My hope as a journalist is my belief is that the truth always finds a way to emerge. I think that is what’s going to happen with this story.”
Reiter said he took on the podcast because he “felt a great personal responsibility to dive back into this story. I had written so much about the team since 2014, and I’d missed something. Everybody had missed something.”
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As for his goal of learning as much as possible about what happened with the Astros and why it happened, Reiter said he is satisfied that he has uncovered as much as can be learned. He does, however, acknowledge that MLB’s report in January was incomplete.
“I think that there are certain things that MLB knows that do not show up in the report,” he said.
“MLB wants to move forward. They want to put this scandal behind them. There’s certainly the possibility that motivation worked against a full investigation of what happened, not only in the Astros, but across the league.”
The podcast is called “The Edge”, and you can find it wherever you’d expect to find podcasts. Now that I might have a bit of spare time in my schedule, I plan to give it a listen.