Say it ain't so Joe! So the Houston Astros CHEATED? So what? Big deal. Isn't that the basic MO of all teams organizations groups?

In this particular instance, the Astros did "cross a line" because the MLB Commissioner explicitly told all Major League teams and players that using technology to steal pitching signs would NOT be tolerated. The Astros kept doing it anyway.

An interesting side note to this story is that the evidence for sign stealing benefiting baseball hitters is VERY weak. For example, player Jose Altuve, who was considered one of the ringleaders of the sign-stealing scandal actually hit BETTER in road games (where his team couldn't steal signs) than in home games (where the sign stealing occurred).

Many players have gone on the record saying they DON'T want to know what kind of pitch is coming, because that knowledge doesn't help them. Hitting a baseball is automatic motor loop process, almost like a reflex. Consciously thinking about hitting a baseball can actually interfere  with the act of hitting a baseball. 

That doesn't mean sign-stealing is completely useless. For example, when Kirk Gibson hit his iconic home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, he pretty much knew what kind of pitch was coming, because pitcher Dennis Eckersley had developed a predictable habit of throwing that particular pitch (a slider) in that ball-strike count against left-handed batters. Los Angeles Dodgers scouts noticed the habit and told Gibson to look for the slider in that situation. That knowledge might have been the difference between Gibson hitting a home run and some other outcome.

However, when one looks at statistical evidence over many players and many many at-bats, it is very hard to make the case sign-stealing helps batters in a statistically significant way.