St. Louis Cardinals History: Chris Correa Pleads Guilty in Hacking Case
With teams requiring online databases to scout and track players, it was a matter of time before someone attempted to hack into their information. On this day in 2016, former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa entered a guilty plea to doing just that.
Considering the proliferation of hackers everywhere, it was a matter of time before a professional team was hacked. However, one likely had to assume that it would be a professional hacker, someone operating in the shadows to steal information from the season ticket holders. Credit card data and personal information could be there for the taking.
And so, it was no surprise that the FBI was involved in a hacking case involving an MLB team. However, what was surprising was that it involved St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, who had accessed the Houston Astros scouting database. That allegation sent shockwaves through the baseball universe.
On this day in 2016, those allegations were confirmed. Correa entered a guilty plea to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer, the result of that investigation. He had been looking at their weekly page of prospect rankings, as well as viewing their methods to scout college hitters and high school pitchers. Correa even accessed their e-mail system, in the attempt to enter their online database.
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A little over six months later, Correa learned his fate. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison, with two years of supervised release. He was also fined $279,037, and was repeatedly admonished by the judge as he read his prepared statement.
The saga is still not over. Rob Manfred still has not come down on the Cardinals organization, although he claims that the MLB investigation is entering its final stages. At some point, the organization will also learn their fate, with their punishment for Correa’s actions on the verge of coming down. Of course, the jokes about the “Cardinals’ Way” will endure despite the actions of Major League Baseball.
It was bound to happen where someone would hack into the database of a Major League franchise. On this day in 2016, former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa admitted to doing just that to the Houston Astros.
