OpinionRight Field: St Louis Cardinals enter the 21st century with hacking case

Nothing about the future is certain. Nothing. But whether it's the stock market or the sports market, predicting the uncertain future is a huge business and any time the stakes are that high, we can expect some dubious behaviour. The lack of ethics on Wall Street has been voluminously documented. Sadly, the world of sports is not far behind, which is why when news spread a few weeks back that the FBI was investigating the St Louis Cardinals for allegedly hacking into the Houston Astros database, it was mildly surprising. After all baseball has a rich history of cheating and the powers that be have often been complicit in letting it slide with a nod and a wink.

What is truly surprising though is that the puritanical Cardinals, a model franchise by any standard, would go to these lengths to steal data from the bottom-feeding Astros. On the surface, it seemed absurd and apologists pointed out that if you aren't cheating a little bit you aren't trying. They cited Super Bowl champions New England Patriots and their recent scandals, like Spygate and Deflategate, as proof that the best are always looking for an edge.

However, the recriminations for this could easily be more than a fine or losing some draft picks. Not only are we hearing very un-baseball phrases like password hygiene and intellectual property, but this is the FBI. Ask any of the Fifa wags locked up in Switzerland fighting extradition to the US and they will tell you that if the FBI gets involved criminal charges usually follow.

Last week, the Cardinals announced that their highly respected scouting director Chris Correa has been fired. How high up the management ladder the hacking goes is anyone's guess at this point. But if the Cardinals need a scapegoat there is always Russia or China because when it comes to illegal electronic intrusions and hi-tech espionage they seem to be the first to blame. As of this moment, though, no viable connection has been established to show how the Astros advanced scouting metrics would aid Russia and China in their desire for military secrets.

So the onus comes back to the Cardinals and the so-called Cardinals way. There are many inside of baseball gleefully applauding this humbling of an organisation and fan base that is often accused of outright smugness. Yet regardless of what you may think of the Cardinals their success is irrefutable. Currently, they have the best record in baseball and are on track for their 12th post-season appearance in the last 15 years and their propensity for scouting and developing players is a major reason for that. The Astros, on the other hand, have been baseball's worst franchise over the last five years. Thanks to the maturation of all their young talent, this season they have managed to turn it around and are now leading their division.