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Mike Clevinger: Astros sign-stealing scandal is 'worse than steroids'

Taking to Twitter, Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger weighed in on the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and new accusations about the team's alleged cheating.

CLEVELAND — As new accusations made their way to social media, many had plenty to say about the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

Very few of the comments, however, were as strong as the ones made by Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger, who took to Twitter to weigh in on the matter.

"I hope they make y'all the Montreal Expos," Clevinger tweeted, referencing the last MLB franchise to relocate.

"They shouldn't feel comfortable looking at any of us in the eye let alone on the field," he posted in a follow-up. "And [if] any other MLB player feels different, they can get it too."

Clevinger wasn't done there.

In his third post on the matter, the 29-year-old right-hander urged MLB to police the situation or else he would do it himself -- presumably by hitting Astros players with pitches. He also went on to take aim at Houston fans, while calling the scandal "worse than steroids."

Clevinger, like his close friend Trevor Bauer, has long been a critic of the Astros, who were punished earlier this week following an MLB investigation into their use of video equipment to steal pitching signals and tip-off batters during their run to the 2017 World Series title. As a result of the investigation, MLB suspended Astros manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for the 2020 season, in addition to issuing Houston a $5 million fine and taking away its first and second-round picks for the next two drafts.

The Astros subsequently fired Hinch and Luhnow. On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora -- who served as the Astros' bench coach in 2017 -- parted ways and the Red Sox remain under investigation for their own sign-stealing scandal.

On Thursday, the story took yet another turn when New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran -- who played for the Astros in 2017 -- stepped down from his position with the team. Shortly after, a Twitter user claiming to be the 9-time All-Star's niece claimed that Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman were involved in an even more elaborate plot in which they wore devices on their shoulders that buzzed in order to tipoff pitches. And while it was later debunked that the Twitter user was, in fact, Beltran's niece, Bauer lent credence to the accusation when he tweeted that he had heard the same story from multiple parties.

As a result of the rumblings, MLB issued a statement saying that it had looked into Houston's the use of wearable devices and found nothing.

It appears Clevinger would prefer that the league look a little harder than that.

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