The 2020 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who did not sign from the 2019 MLB draft and for teams who lost qualifying free agents. On March 26, 2020, MLB and the MLBPA reached a deal that included the option to shorten the draft to five rounds, and also shorten the 2021 draft to 20 rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a plan to allow teams to sign an unlimited number of undrafted players for $20,000 each, MLB ultimately opted to shorten the 2020 draft to five rounds. The draft was originally planned to be hosted live for the first time in Omaha, Nebraska, to accompany the since-cancelled 2020 College World Series. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft was instead held remotely from MLB Network's studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. With sponsorship from T-Mobile, the event was officially the 2020 MLB Draft Presented by T-Mobile, with ESPN providing live coverage for the first time since 2008, alongside MLB Network.
The Houston Astros sign stealing scandal was a major scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) that broke in November 2019, in which several members of the Houston Astros were caught and disciplined for illegally using a video camera system to steal signs from opposing teams during games in 2017 and 2018.
The 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros visiting the White House. The legitimacy of their victory came under question following the scandal.
Pitcher Mike Fiers, pictured here with the Houston Astros in 2017, brought the scandal to light in November 2019 during an interview with reporters of The Athletic.
Many non-verbal cues were used by the Astros dugout to let the at-bat know what pitch was coming next. One of those cues was banging on a trash can. Opposing pitchers took notice of how the banging of the trash can aligned with a specific type of pitch being signaled by the catcher.
Minute Maid Park, the Astros' home ballpark, in 2010