While the Democrats today admit that some cheating likely occurred, they contend the number of illegal votes cast could never have amounted to enough to affect the outcome of the election.
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In 2016, the Houston Astros won 84 games and finished third in their division. The year before they had won 86 games. For the second year in a row, they had failed to live up to expectations and disappointed their fans.
So the Astros went into the 2017 Major League Baseball season determined to win, determined to prove to their fans and opponents that they had what it takes to be world champions.
After winning a jaw-dropping 101 games, the Astros made it to the World Series, where they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a nail-biting winner-takes-all game seven. Dodgers’ fans were crushed and Astros’ fans were ecstatic.
CNN described the World Series contest between Houston and Los Angeles as “one of the most evenly matched, hard fought and thrilling World Series of all time.” A.J. Hinch, the Astros’ manager proudly announced, “You know what, Houston? You’re a championship city.”
But back in September, about a month and a half before their historic World Series victory, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox named Danny Farquhar complained that he’d heard the sound of a banging trash can coming from the Astros’ dugout while he was pitching. He said he noticed it every time he was about to throw an off-speed pitch.
Farquhar’s suspicion never garnered much attention. His teammates thought he was being paranoid and Farquhar didn’t think he “had the standing to make such an accusation.” Reporters didn’t pick up on Farquhar’s comments—they were too caught up in the excitement surrounding the Astros’ rise.
We know today that Farquhar’s observations were important because it turned out the trash can banging was intentional. The reason Farquhar heard the noise every time he was about to throw an off-speed pitch was that someone in the Astros’ dugout was alerting the Astros batter about what to expect.
The Astros had been cheating all season—sign stealing—using a camera they’d set up in the outfield. But by the time the cheating scandal was discovered and investigated, the Astros had already been declared the 2017 World Series Champions. One could say they stole the championship. But the season couldn’t be replayed, could it? And the Los Angeles Dodgers couldn’t be declared the winners instead, could they?
Something similar occurred with our 2020 election.