Retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz described Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers as ‘a snitch’ for blowing the whistle on his former Houston Astros teammates’ sign-stealing scheme that has recently tarnished that club’s 2017 World Series title.
‘I’m mad at this guy, the pitcher who came out talking about it,’ said Ortiz, who now serves as an assistant to Red Sox general manager Brian O’Halloran. ‘And let me tell you why.
‘After you make your money, after you get your ring you decide to talk about it,’ Ortiz continued, addressing reporters at Boston’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida. ‘Why don’t you talk about it during the season when it was going on? Why didn’t you say, “I don’t want to be no part of it?”
‘So you look you like a snitch. Why you gotta talk about it after? That’s my problem.’
And it’s not just Fiers’s inaction that bothered Ortiz, who openly wondered why every player remained silent while the scheme was being implemented.
‘The Houston Astros, I know they put themselves in a situation and I just still don’t know how come nobody was like, “That is wrong.” I just don’t know how no one say something about it – during, not after,’ said Ortiz, who retired after the 2016 season. ‘I was in the clubhouse for a long time and never anything like that comes up.’
In a November interview with The Athletic, Fiers divulged details about how the Astros used a sign-stealing system during the 2017 season, leading to sanctions against his former club and drawing criticism in some corners for violating the ‘unwritten rules’ of baseball.
An MLB investigation also found the team improperly stole signs again in 2018.
While many players have focused their anger on the Astros, Fiers is expected to face some backlash himself for divulging clubhouse secrets to the media.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that ‘we will take every possible step to protect Mike Fiers wherever he’s playing, whether it’s in Houston or somewhere else.’
Fiers, however, does not think that will be necessary.
‘I’m not asking for extra security,’ Fiers told The Athletic. ‘I’m here to play baseball and I can defend myself, if anything. We do have National League games, and I’m going to have to get into the box (to hit) just like everybody else.
‘It’s part of the game. If they decide to throw at me, then they throw at me. There’s nothing much you can do about it.’ (Oakland plays in the American League, which uses a designated hitter in place of pitchers, so Fiers can only be targeted by opposing hurlers during inter-league play, when the Athletics face National League opponents)
Players all around the majors are criticizing the Astros’ sign-steal scheme, with some saying their 2017 World Series crown should be vacated.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch was fired in the fallout of the scandal, and it also led to the Red Sox parting ways with manager Alex Cora (Houston’s bench coach at the time) and the New York Mets moving on from recently hired manager Carlos Beltran (a Houston player at the time). Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow also was dismissed.
Luhnow and Hinch were suspended by MLB, which also fined the franchise $5 million and stripped the team of its draft picks in the first and second rounds over the next two seasons.
The 2018 Red Sox, who were managed by Cora, are also being investigated for a sign-stealing scheme. MLB’s findings are expected to be announced next week. Ortiz was not a member of that team.
Ortiz also defended Manfred’s decision against punishing individual players for the scheme, saying the commissioner has taken too much heat for how he’s handled the scandal.
‘To be honest with you, I’ve been watching the whole thing and the commissioner has been getting so much heat like it was like him that made that mistake,’ Ortiz said. ‘I don’t agree with him getting all the heat and the reality is that not one player came through and was like, ‘Hey, it was me that started this up.’ Everyone is passing the ball like when you’re playing basketball.
‘All the commissioner can do is have the team investigate what is going on and do what he knows how to do.’
Fiers has since pitched for the Detroit Tigers and the Athletics, with whom he compiled a career-best 15-4 record in 33 starts last season. He pitched his second career no-hitter and finished with a 3.90 ERA.