SAN DIEGO — By the time AJ Hinch sat before the press on Tuesday for the first time since the story on the Houston Astros’ electronic sign stealing broke, it was clear that reporters didn’t need to bring their recorders.



Alex Cora, Hinch’s bench coach during the 2017 season when the Astros are alleged to have cheated, had sat in Hinch’s exact chair the day before and replied to journalists’ queries with the same line over and over again: “Out of respect for the investigation, I’m not going to comment.” The New York Mets’ new manager, Carlos Beltrán — who had been a veteran leader on the same 2017 Astros squad — parroted what Cora said, declining to answer anything related to Houston or sign stealing, even when I asked him if, generally speaking, he is OK with teams using cameras to steal signs in real time.



These were difficult press conferences, to say the least. But nothing compared to...