Former Dodgers Pitcher Sues Astros Seeking $31M For LA Charities

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former Dodgers pitcher sued the Houston Astros over the sign-stealing scandal Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, becoming the first player to attempt to make the team pay in court for damage caused by the scheme.

Mike Bolsinger, a journeyman pitcher, contends the cheating tanked his career. In addition to damages, he wants the Astros to pay $31 million — the approximate amount of bonuses received by winning the 2017 World Series title against the Dodgers — to Los Angeles-area charities.

The sign-stealing scheme occurred in 2017, when the Astros beat the Dodgers in the World Series. While much has been made about the impact the scheme had on the sport, the World Series and the Dodgers, Bolsinger's suit highlights the potentially career-ending impact it may have had on pitchers trying to make it in the major league.

Bolsinger, who had stints with the Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays, claims in his lawsuit that the Astros employed the sign-stealing scheme while he was pitching in a game Aug. 4, 2017. The scheme involved a video camera trained on opposing catchers and a system of banging on trash cans to alert Houston batters about the type of pitch about to be thrown. It was a disastrous outing that was quickly followed by Bolsinger's demotion to the minor leagues.

During that outing for the Blue Jays, Bolsinger gave up four runs while recording only one out, the suit claims, adding that 12 of the 29 pitches he threw were preceded by banging noises from the Astros' dugout, a noise now known to have been used to alert batters that an off-speed pitch was about to be thrown.

"I don't know if I've had a worse outing in my professional career," Bolsinger told USA Today on Monday. "I remember saying, 'It was like they knew what I was throwing. They're laying off pitches they weren't laying off before. It's like they knew what was coming.' That was the thought in my head. I felt like I didn't have a chance."

Astros officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

After the game, Bolsinger was demoted to the minor leagues, and he wound up moving to play overseas in Japan, according to the lawsuit. The suit contends that the disastrous inning in Houston was "the death knell" to Bolsinger's MLB career.

"Due to the inning against the Houston Astros, plaintiff Bolsinger was no longer seen as a successful relief pitcher that could be trusted in this role and was not picked up by the Blue Jays for the following year," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, but it requests that team pay $31 million — the approximate amount of bonuses received by winning the 2017 World Series title against the Dodgers — and direct the money to Los Angeles-area charities.

A Major League Baseball investigation concluded last month that the Astros used the camera system to illegally steal signs during the 2017 season. Astros manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were initially suspended by the league, and they were subsequently fired by the Astros.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.