Cardinals Began Internal Hacking Inquiry to Help FBI Months Ago

The St. Louis Cardinals began an internal inquiry this year to help federal authorities investigate allegations that members of their front office hacked the Houston Astros’s computer network.

Cardinals Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William DeWitt Jr. said in a statement Wednesday that the Major League Baseball franchise was informed of the allegations "several months ago." It then hired St. Louis law firm Dowd Bennett LLP to assist federal investigators and attempt to identify whether any team employees were involved.

“These are serious allegations that don’t reflect who we are as an organization,” DeWitt said Wednesday in his first public comments since the Cardinals’ involvement went public. “We are committed to getting to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible, and if anyone within our organization is determined to be involved in anything inappropriate, they will be held accountable.”

The team’s internal investigation is ongoing, according to Jim Martin, a partner at Dowd Bennett.

Investigators found evidence that Cardinals personnel broke into a propriety network owned by the Astros, which housed internal discussions about trades, statistics and scouting reports, said an official, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing inquiry.

The hack initially came to light a year ago when leaked documents were published on the anonymous document-sharing website Anonbin. The New York Times, which broke the news of the Cardinals’ involvement on Tuesday, reported that FBI officials traced the online postings to a location used by Cardinals officials.