The St. Louis Cardinals were embroiled in a massive scandal in June 2015. At the time, it was revealed that the team was being investigated by the FBI for hacking into the Houston Astros’ scouting database.
Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa pleaded guilty to breaching violations of MLB rules.
Correa accessed the Astros' scouting information in 2013 ahead of the MLB Draft. According to reports, Correa used a former colleague’s password to access the Astors' player database over 50 times in 16 months.
He also viewed internal communications regarding Houston's ongoing trade discussions.
The high-tech cheating was first reported in June 2014 when then-Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, a former Cardinals employee, said the team had been the victim of hackers. Some of the material was also posted online.
However, once the FBI looked into St. Louis' database, they found that Correa had been the one hacking into their system.
The MLB later released its punishment for the Cardinals in January 2017. It was confirmed that St. Louis would lose two draft picks (Nos. 56 and 75 overall) in the 2017 amateur draft and pay a $2 million fine to the Houston Astros as compensation.
What happened to former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa?
Prior to terminating him, the St. Louis Cardinals had promoted Chris Correa to scouting director in December 2014. He had been with the organization since 2009.
Correa was fired by the Cardinals in July 2015, seven months before taking the plea deal and a month after news of the scandal broke. He was sentenced to 46 months in jail and ordered to pay the Astros $279,039 in restitution.
Once he was found guilty of cheating, Correa admitted that his mistake was 'stupid'.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred banned Correa from the league for life as another part of his punishment.