Chris Correa Pleads Guilty In Hacking Of Astros

Chris Correa, the Cardinals scouting director fired in July after just six months on the job for his alleged involvement in a hacking scandal involving the Houston Astros, pleaded guilty Friday to criminal charges related to the case.

Correa appeared before U.S. Magistrate Mary Milloy in Houston and made his guilty plea to U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the maximum penalty on each of the five counts is up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution. Correa’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 11.

“Yes, your honor, I accept responsibility for my mistakes,” Correa told Judge Hughes, according to the newspaper.

Correa said he trespassed on the Astros system based on suspicion that the Astros had acquired data from the Cardinals’ network.

According to the indictment, Correa accessed the email account of one Astros employee, “Victim A,” and the accounts of that employee and another, “Victim B,” in the Astros’ proprietary database known as “Ground Control.”

“We have secured an appropriate conviction in this case as a result of a very detailed, thorough and complete investigation,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said in a statement. “Unauthorized computer intrusion is not to be taken lightly. Whether it’s preserving the sanctity of America’s pastime or protecting trade secrets, those that unlawfully gain proprietary information by accessing computers without authorization must be held accountable for their illegal actions.”

The Cardinals had no comment, according to BA correspondent Derrick Goold.

In a statement, MLB wrote “Major League Baseball appreciates the efforts of federal law enforcement authorities in investigating the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database, and identifying the perpetrator of this crime. We anticipate that the authorities will share with us the results of their investigation at the appropriate time, and we will determine what further actions to take after receiving all the relevant information.”

Correa, 35, was promoted in December 2014 to the job after Dan Kantrovitz left to become assistant general manager of the Athletics.

But last June, The New York Times reported that the Cardinals were being investigated by the FBI and the Justice Department for allegedly hacking a network of the Astros that housed proprietary databases. That probe stemmed from the leak of information about trade discussions and other personnel decisions involving the Astros that were published on Deadspin.com and other websites last summer.

Correa was alleged to have been involved and placed on an “imposed leave of absence,” before being fired in July.

Baseball America correspondent Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the story. A source told Goold that Correa admitted hacking into the Astros database but said it was only to verify that the Astros had stolen proprietary data.

Correa had worked for the Cardinals since 2009 in statistical analysis, first as a qualitative analyst, then as manager (and later director) of baseball operations. He had been involved with the Cardinals’ drafts from a statistical standpoint and has gained scouting experience in his role both at the major league and amateur levels. His background is similar to those of predecessors Kantrovitz and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow.

Correa earned an undergraduate degree from Hampshire (Mass.) College and got his master’s degree from Illinois in psychology. He was working on his doctorate at Michigan prior to joining the Cardinals.

In 2009, Correa left a Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan to work on a contract basis with Luhnow, who was director of amateur scouting and farm director. He later joined the front office full-time and was promoted to manager of baseball development in 2012.

Luhnow left the team to become the Astros general manager in 2011.