Cardinals GM says he knew nothing about hacking of Astros' database
St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak says he “unequivocally” knew nothing about members of the organization allegedly hacking into a computer database of the Houston Astros.
The New York Timesreported Tuesday that the Cardinals are under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice over whether front-office officials were behind an effort to steal information from the Astros' database, called Ground Control.
Authorities say they believe Cardinals employees hacked into the Astros' network after Cardinals executive Jeff Luhnow left the team to be become the Houston’s general manager in 2011. According to the Times, team employees were worried that Luhnow brought structural information from the Cardinals' computer network to Houston.
“We want to get to the bottom of this," Mozeliak said to USA Today. "We're in the same position as the government, to get to the bottom of it, and we're cooperating with them to do so.
"Unequivocally," Mozeliak added. “I knew nothing about this."
Cardinals' hacking into Astros' database is worse than Deflategate
Cardinals counsel Mike Whittle said that Mozeliak and team owner/CEO Bill DeWitt have not been implicated in the investigation, and refused to say if anyone under investigation had been suspended or fired.
"I've dealt with the U.S. attorney,” Whittle said, "and I don't want to interfere, but we have no indication that either Bill or John are being targeted in the organization.”
St. Louis has played in the National League Championship Series in each of the past four years, winning a World Series championship in 2011. This season, the Cardinals have a 43-22 record, the best mark in baseball.
"I just hope it's something that doesn't linger for us," Mozeliak said. "This organization has stood for a lot of positive things over the last couple of decades."
- Scooby Axson
