More Details Surface from Cardinal's Hack of Astros System

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In accessing the Astros' proprietary Ground Control database, the team's repository for player evaluation, he sought draft information before and during the draft, trade information on the day of the trade deadline and, in the grossest breach, broke into an Astros employee's email to retrieve the new URL and password to Ground Control after the Astros had changed both.

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On March 24, Correa downloaded an Excel file from Ground Control that ranked every draft-eligible player. He looked at other pages that included notes on trade discussions, what the Astros thought of Cardinals prospects, potential draft bonuses and scouting reports. The final 30 rounds of the draft took place June 8, when Correa accessed Ground Control again – and sorted the list of players by those still undrafted.

Seven weeks later, on July 31 – the day of baseball's non-waiver trade deadline – Correa logged into Ground Control to once again see the Astros' trade discussions. The talks eventually wound up on an anonymous sharing site in June 2014, the Astros' innermost workings laid bare for the world to see.

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After the Astros changed the URL on Ground Control and ordered users to change their passwords, all in a security effort, Correa logged into the employee's email, found the new URL and default password, and accessed Ground Control once more, at which point he pored over 118 pages of documents, from trade discussions to potential international signings to a plethora of draft information. It was like a guy's ex changing the locks and him stealing her purse so he could get a copy of the new key. And the reason for St. Louis' interest surely went beyond plain curiosity.

In 2014, the Astros had the first pick in the draft and the Cardinals the last pick, meaning the Cardinals were always picking one slot ahead of Houston. As such, knowing the Astros' 2014 draft board, their analytics and scouting departments' favorite players and their scouting evaluations – all of which Correa saw – had great significance.

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