Former Cardinals scouting director admits illegal access to Astros’ database

The Cardinals scouting director who was fired last July for his alleged role in the hacking scandal that engulfed the club pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges.

Chris Correa, 35, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Houston to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer. As part of his plea, he admitted accessing information about Houston Astros prospects and trade discussion, as well as other information. He also admitted taking measures to conceal his identity and the location of his computer and admitted that the “intended loss” for all of the hacking was about $1.7 million.

In court, Correa claimed that he was trying to see if former Cardinals employees had brought…