When Mike Fiers refused to be intimidated by threats after exposing the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal
Former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers revealed in 2020 that he had received death threats after blowing the whistle on the Houston Astros' 2017 sign-stealing scandal.
He told the San Francisco Chronicle at the time:
“Whatever, I don’t care. I’ve dealt with a lot of death threats before. It’s just another thing on my plate.”
Not perturbed by the threats, Fiers was never interested in receiving extra security. In an interview with The Athletic, he said:
“I’m not asking for extra security. 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.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred also pledged his support towards Fiers, promising protection for him every step of the way.
“We will take every possible step to protect Mike Fiers wherever he’s playing, whether it’s in Houston or somewhere else,” Manfred said at a 2020 press conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Mike Fiers revealed that he wanted a clean game as his reason for blowing the whistle. He also mentioned that he'd warned the Detroit Tigers and Oakland A's that Houston Astros hitters were using a video feed piped into a monitor near the dugout to decode signs and relay them to hitters during games.
"I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they're going in there not knowing," Fiers concluded.
Although referred to as a snitch by the media and players alike, Mike Fiers felt he did the right thing, and he's probably right at that.
David Ortiz calls Mike Fiers a "snitch," sounds off on Astros sign-stealing scandal, feels for Jose Altuve. nesn.com/boston-red-sox/ https://t.co/6kdeo3BWi1
Mike Fiers' sign-stealing admission
The pitcher, who played for the Houston Astros in 2017 when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, detailed exactly how the organization went about cheating in baseball in a 2020 interview with The Athletic.
He described how a center-field camera feed was sent to the tunnel behind the Astros dugout in Minute Maid Park, and an Astros player or staff member then hit a trash can to signal specific pitches to the batter at home plate.
MLB began an investigation the day after The Athletic story was published. The league found the Astros guilty of illegally decoding and communicating opponents' pitches to their own players.