>Last year, some of the information was posted anonymously online, according to an article on Deadspin. Among the details that were exposed were trade discussions that the Astros had with other teams... Believing that the Astros’ network had been compromised by a rogue hacker, Major League Baseball notified the F.B.I., and the authorities in Houston opened an investigation. Agents soon found that the Astros’ network had been entered from a computer at a home that some Cardinals officials had lived in.
And the only way they were caught was because they likely leaked some of the information they found to Deadspin. I remember at the time of the original Astro's leak, it was very interesting what specifically was leaked. It was not anything that could damage the Astros from either a legal, financial, or competitive standpoint. It only served as an embarrassment to the front office, almost as if the specific information leaked was meant as petty revenge while trying to walk a line by abiding by a certain competitive and moral code.
And the only way they were caught was because they likely leaked some of the information they found to Deadspin. I remember at the time of the original Astro's leak, it was very interesting what specifically was leaked. It was not anything that could damage the Astros from either a legal, financial, or competitive standpoint. It only served as an embarrassment to the front office, almost as if the specific information leaked was meant as petty revenge while trying to walk a line by abiding by a certain competitive and moral code.