CLEVELAND, Ohio -- On the day MLB’s electronic sign-stealing scandal claimed its third manager in four days, Indians manager Terry Francona bristled at the suggestion that the majority of big-league teams have used technology to steal the opposition’s signs.

“I only know what happens with the Indians,” said Francona, participating in the Celebrity Diamond Resorts Golf Tournament in Orlando, Fla. “I know we obey the rules. I don’t like when everybody lumps us together. Like, ‘Hey, everybody is doing it.’ You have to be careful when you say something like that.”

Mets manager Carlos Beltran on Thursday resigned because of his part in the sign-stealing scandal as a member of the Houston Astros in 2017. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday suspended Houston manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow for a year without pay after a three-month investigation showed that the Astros used technology to steal catcher’s signs in 2017 and 2018. Team owner Jim Crain subsequently fired Hinch and Luhnow.

Boston manager Alex Cora resigned on Wednesday. Cora was Hinch’s bench coach in 2017 and according to Manfred’s report was the mastermind behind the sign-stealing scam before he became manager of the Red Sox in 2018. Cora’s Red Sox won the World Series in 2018 and are currently under investigation by MLB for signing stealing during that season.

The Astros, according to MLB’s investigation, stopped using technology to steal signs during the 2018 season. In the postseason that year, they swept the Indians in three games in the ALDS. After the series, several Indians players seemed to indicate that they were at a disadvantage before the series started because of Houston’s reputation.

Asked if that played a role in the Indians being swept, Francona said, "I think what played a role was Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole (Houston’s starting pitchers in the first two games of the series). But I know guys were worried about it. Sometimes whether stuff is real or not when it gets in your head, that doesn’t help anything.

“That’s part of it, too. There’s a mental part of it, too.”

During MLB’s investigation, Hinch said he was against the sign stealing scam that started in 2017 and carried through Houston’s World Series victory over the Dodgers that same year. But he admitted he never told Cora or his players, including Beltran, to stop the practice.

Francona, upon being asked how a manager should control his team in that situations, said, "I can’t speak to that because I haven’t been in that situation. I do know there are a lot of nights I go home and I try to think about conversations I need to have with people.

“You want to find a way for them to understand that what they’re doing isn’t right without hurting them. That’s a big responsibility for managers. That’s part of the job. That’s a big part of the job.”

Francona is friends with Cora and Hinch. He contacted both men after they were fired. He believes Cora, Hinch and Beltran will be back in uniform some day.

“I don’t know how big a black eye this is for baseball,” said Francona. "Like everything it will pass. The guys will serve their suspensions and they’ll be back in uniform as they should be. They messed up. They got their punishment. They’re paying for it

“They’ll be back. I fully believe that.”

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