While Martino’s history of cheating in baseball is almost superfluous to the main story, really, his account of the unfolding, and undoing, of the Astros’ plot is well covered and compellingly told.
Martino craftily leads readers through the scandal, with all of its twists and turns. He begins by providing interesting, relevant background information, and then lays out mountains of evidence, obtained through hundreds of documented interviews, and offers clues, all the while explaining their immediate relevance. The book culminates in a comprehensive, fascinating, yet incomplete conclusion ... The writing is engaging and casual throughout ... This disturbing tale will satisfy baseball fans, but will also be of great interest to many other sports followers.
... a well-reported and well-written book, one that details the extent of the Astros’ sins while also showing that while this recent scandal might be the one most prominent in our memories, it is far from the only time that a team has crossed a line in its efforts to gain a better understanding of (and advantage over) their opponents ... all fascinating stuff, rendered all the more engaging by the context that Martino constructs ... a compelling look at what can happen to a team when they wade into the murky middle and allow their competitiveness to push them over the line.
Veteran sports journalist Andy Martino does a deep dive into the whole sordid affair. Perhaps too much so. There’s no question that a lot of research went into this project. Martino spends the first 11 chapters discussing issues that are only slightly germane to the bigger matter. Do we really need to know the 'origin' story of the main participants[?] ... The actual tale of the transgression doesn’t require a book-length retelling unless you’re really into such sports skullduggery. If that’s the case, then cheated will serve you well.
A sportswriter recaps one of the biggest cheating scandals in baseball history ... A deeper book would have delved further into the scandal’s implications—on the game, on players and unions, on the role of technology and social media—but this one succeeds as a well-written work of straightforward reportage certain to appeal to baseball fans. Along the way, Martino documents countless jaw-dropping examples of moral laxity ... An entertaining account of one of baseball’s sorriest chapters.
Journalist Martino draws from more than 100 interviews, primarily with eyewitnesses and participants, to provide a detailed account of the scandal that tainted the Houston Astros’ 2017 World Series victory ... Martino makes the story accessible to casual fans, with enough detail to sate diehard fans of the sport. This account serves as a nice addition to the growing canon of books about sports scandals.
