Ben Verlander Loses His Mind, Says Jose Altuve Didn't Cheat On 2017 Houston Astros

The 2017 Houston Astros cheated. It's not up for debate or dispute. They absolutely, 100 percent cheated. Every single one of their offensive players cheated. And they cheated their way to winning a World Series.

Not only did the players get away with it, but some of them have openly bragged about how they cheated in important situations to give their team a boost. Like former Astros catcher Evan Gattis, who in 2023 said on X (then Twitter), that he'd used the Astros cheating/trash can system to hit a home run in game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees.

It wasn't just Gattis. The team's bench coach in 2017, Alex Cora, reportedly bragged about cheating during the World Series.

READ: Alex Cora Bragged About Houston Astros Cheating During 2017 World Series, According To New Book

"We knew the Astros did [cheated]," one Red Sox player said, according to a book on the 2017 season in Houston, "because Alex Cora told us. He said that when they played the Dodgers, ‘We already knew what everybody was throwing before we even got on base. We didn’t have to get on base.’"

The player continued, explaining that Cora bragged about stealing a championship. "We stole that (expletive) World Series," Cora reportedly said.

But for some, especially Ben Verlander, brother of former Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, reality is apparently just too difficult to accept. As he demonstrated so beautifully on Friday night as the Astros beat up on their 2017 World Series opponents, the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a series of inaccurate posts on X, Verlander defended Astros outfielder Jose Altuve, by inexplicably acting as though he didn't cheat while an integral part of the team that got caught cheating.

LOS ANGELES - Houston Astros outfielder Jose Altuve hits a 2-run home run during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 4, 2025. Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Ben Verlander Goes Off The Deep End To Defend Cheating Houston Astros

Altuve had a big game on Friday night, going 3-3 with two home runs and a double, driving in five against the Dodgers' bullpen. As usual, and as he so richly deserves, Altuve was raucously booed by the Dodger Stadium crowd. Despite the boos, the Astros scored 10 runs off Dodgers minor leaguer Noah Davis. 

Verlander celebrated it, posting a video of Altuve's homer with the caption "JOSE ALTUVE OWNS THE DODGERS AND THERE’S NO AMOUNT OF BOO’S THAT CAN STOP HIM."

Beyond that inaccuracy, Verlander went further. He responded to a now-deleted post about Altuve's cheating and flat out denied objective history. 

"He didn't cheat," Verlander said. What now? 

Verlander then bizarrely and baselessly accused the Dodgers of cheating, saying "They were cheating too. Should've cheated better." 

What in the world is he talking about?

Of course Altuve cheated. All the Astros cheated. They've never shown any remorse for cheating, many have bragged about it. The players weren't even punished for cheating. Which is why Dodgers fans, and the rest of the league that lives in reality, are still upset about it nearly a decade later. Because they cheated. And were rewarded.

Beyond the mountains of evidence, literally on video, supporting Altuve cheating, the stats bear it out too. His 2017 season was by far the best offensive year of his career. He had 7.7 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs, the highest number he's ever had. He was 54 runs better than average offensively, over 15 percent better than any other year. His .346 batting average was also the highest of his career, and his .547 slugging percentage was the highest in any season in which he played more than 130 games. 

Altuve cheated, and put up the best numbers of his career as a result.

On top of that inarguable truth, he doesn't "own" the Dodgers. In his career, he's hit .305/.365/.558 against LA in 24 games. Those are great numbers. They're also not far off his career line of .304/.361/.467. Essentially, Altuve's played against LA exactly the way he plays against everyone else. Verlander was wrong again.

Oh, and in the 2017 World Series when he was cheating? Altuve went 2-10 in the first two games in Los Angeles, then was 4-14 in the three games in Houston where the team was more easily able to rely on their video system to cheat. Back in LA for games five and six? Altuve went a combined 0-7. So he was 2-17 in LA and 4-14 in Houston. Wonder if he was cheating! 

And even with his cheating, he was 6-31 overall in the World Series, a .194 batting average. Sounds like someone who "owns" the Dodgers.

It's not even worth arguing against Verlander's claim that the Dodgers were cheating too, as they and other teams were investigated and cleared by Major League Baseball. But this is what happens when you've drowned yourself in too many delusional conspiracy theories on social media and have no choice but to defend your brother, whose first championship came as a result of his team's historic propensity for cheating. 

You'd say it's not too late for Verlander to return to reality, but it kinda might be.