There appears to be some remorse floating around the Houston Astros and their former players in the wake of their cheating scandal. It’s not nearly enough for a lot of people, nor does it seem particularly genuine.
Of course, it’s also the result of the team actually getting caught this offseason for a sign-stealing scheme during its 2017 World Series season, which also led to multiple people losing their jobs, harsh criticism (and jokes) from other MLB players and ridicule from baseball fans during spring training.
Right-handed pitcher Collin McHugh — a new member of the Boston Red Sox, who are also being investigated for sign stealing in 2018, after spending six seasons in Houston — said, via ESPN, that while Astros pitchers obviously couldn’t take advantage of the sign stealing, they were complicit in the scheme for not saying anything.
But he also said he doesn’t know what they could have done because “it wasn’t really our territory.”
“You’ve got to be willing to stick up for what you believe in and what you believe is right and what you believe is wrong,” McHugh said Friday. “And I think a lot of the guys on that team, including myself, are looking back now and wishing we had been as brave in the moment as we thought we were beforehand.”
McHugh — who only pitched in 12 regular-season and two postseason games for the Astros in 2017 — said Houston’s pitchers believed or “were made to believe” that their signs were being stolen too. But he acknowledged that’s “not justification for doing something you know is not right.”
Pitches like Yu Darvish and Clayton Kershaw have chastised the Astros for stealing signs, while former Blue Jays pitcher Mike Bolsinger is suing the team.
McHugh said he thinks about the scandal a lot, particularly about the impact it had on opposing pitchers. More via ESPN:
“To put myself in the shoes of the guys who pitched against us in 2017 and to know that our hitters made that job that much harder that year — it’s hard to swallow. And I feel for them and I understand the anger and I understand when people are mad and pissed off,” McHugh said. “I get it. I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to be out there and feel like a team has your signs. It’s a lonely place.”
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