AP source: Cardinals allegedly hacked Astros player database

ST. LOUIS – Federal law enforcement authorities are investigating whether the St. Louis Cardinals illegally hacked into a computer database of the Houston Astros to obtain information on players, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday in an unusual case involving two former division rivals in Major League Baseball.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because MLB, law enforcement officials and the two teams were not disclosing details of the investigation. The New York Times first reported that the FBI and Justice Department were investigating whether Cardinals’ front-office officials were behind the effort to steal information from the Astros’ database, called Ground Control.

“Major League Baseball has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Houston Astros’ baseball operations database,” MLB said in a statement. “Once the investigative process has been completed by federal law enforcement officials, we will evaluate the next steps and will make decisions promptly.”

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said subpoenas have been issued, though he did not provide details.