News that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department are investigating whether front-office officials for the St. Louis Cardinals hacked into the internal networks of the Houston Astros drew immediate reaction on social media on Tuesday. The Cardinals — one of the most successful teams in baseball — have a huge national fan base. But the Twitter-verse loves to see the mighty fall, and commenters rushed to jump on the pile:
There were, of course, inevitable comparisons to the New England Patriots (another great team people love to hate) and their cheating scandals:
Will Leitch, a well-known Cardinals supporter and author of “Are We Winning?