Pedro Martinez Is Not A Fan Of Astros Whistleblower Mike Fiers
BOSTON (CBS) -- Mike Fiers is being praised by many for revealing the Houston Astros' sign-stealing ways. But Red Sox great Pedro Martinez is not in that camp.
Fiers, who toed the rubber in Houston for three seasons, spilled the beans on the Astros' 2017 cheating scandal to The Athletic, prompting an investigation by MLB that led to some stiff punishments for Houston. Manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Lehnow were both suspended for a season and later fired by the team, while the Astros were fined $5 million and docked a first- and second-round draft pick in each of the next two drafts.
Alex Cora was the mastermind behind the 2017 scandal, which ultimately cost him his job in Boston. MLB is now investigating whether the Red Sox also used video equipment to steal signs during the 2018 season.
While Martinez is happy that baseball is cleaning up the game, he isn't too happy about how Fiers went about bringing the scandal to light. Martinez called Fiers a "bad teammate" for ratting out the Astros after he left the team, and not taking a stand when he was still in Houston.
"If he was to do it when he was playing for the Houston Astros, I would say Mike Fiers has guts. But to go and do it after you leave the Houston Astros, because they don't have you anymore, that doesn't show me anything," Martinez told WEEI during the Red Sox Winter Weekend in Springfield. "You're just a bad teammate."
Martinez said Fiers sold out his former teammates because he had a grudge with the Houston organization.
"Whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse and Fiers broke the rules. I agree with cleaning up the game. I agree that the fact that the Commissioner is taking a hard hand on this, but at the same time, players should not be the one dropping the whistle-blower," said Martinez.
Martinez said he cannot trust Fiers after he threw his teammates under the bus.
"If you have integrity you find ways to tell everybody in the clubhouse, 'Hey, we might get in trouble for this. I don't want to be part of this.' " Martinez said. "You call your GM. You tell him. Or you call anybody you can or MLB or someone and say, 'I don't want to be part of this.' Or you tell the team, 'Get me out of here, I don't want to be part of this.' Then you show me something."
Martinez is likely a little biased, given his role as a special assistant for the Red Sox. Though he's ultimately glad that MLB is doing what it can to get cheating out of the game, he's made it pretty clear that he doesn't agree with how Fiers went about ousting his former team.