Former MLB Pitcher Mike Bolsinger Files Civil Lawsuit Against Astros Following Sign Stealing Fallout

Former MLB pitcher Mike Bolsinger filed a civil lawsuit against the Houston Astros Monday accusing the team of improper business practices and negligence related to the sign stealing scandal.

Bolsing is being represented by attorney Ben Meiselas of Los Angeles firm Geragos & Geragos. Meiselas is a prominent sports lawyer who recently represented Colin Kaepernick in his collusion grievance case against the NFL. Bolsinger is seeking $31 million in bonuses that Houston received upon winning the 2017 World Series and would like a portion of the money donated to children’s charities in Los Angeles. He also wants to establish a fund for “retired baseball players who need financial assistance,” according to CBS Sports.

The 32-year-old made 48 appearances in the MLB from 2014-17 and the majority of his career was spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last start was against the Astros in August 2017  where he gave up four hits and three walks after facing eight batters. Bolsinger claims the bad outing cost him a longer career in the big leagues. “I was an older guy. They had younger guys to call up,” he told Armour. “Let’s say that (Astros game) doesn’t happen … I probably don’t get sent down. But at that point, they probably lost faith in me and were over it.”

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According to Bolsinger’s complaint, he was the victim of sign stealing in his last game and has proof that the Astro’s made 12 “bangs” in the dugout that informed batters of stolen signs and what pitches were coming. He claims that Astros’ players knew what type of pitch he was throwing 40% of the time.

Following his last appearance Bolsinger wound up in Japan pitching for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He is currently a free agent with MLB career stats consisting of an ERA of 4.92 in 48 games pitched with an 8-19 record.