Whistleblower Fiers receives threats
Astros outfielder Reddick also getting intimidating ‘I will kill your family’ messages
>> LOS ANGELES: Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers, who exposed the Houston Astros’ method of electronically stealing signs in the 2017 season, has acknowledged receiving “threats of physical violence,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Fiers was a member of the Astros in 2017. While he said he’s unconcerned about his own safety, he told the Chronicle he does worry for his family but sounded resigned to getting public backlash from some.
“Whatever, I don’t care,” Fiers said, according to the newspaper. “I’ve dealt with a lot of death threats before. It’s just another thing on my plate.”
Astros outfielder Josh Reddick, who reportedly refused help from illegally obtained signs, also opened up on Friday regarding threats directed at his family. He said he is receiving threats every day.
“You just see the first things in your suggested box and it just says, ‘I will kill your family. I will kill your kids. Blah blah blah,’” Reddick said.
Heading into this season, Reddick said, “It could be very dangerous outside of the ballpark to even bring your family.
“For me, myself having almost five-month-old boys, it is going to be pretty scary because my wife is going to go want to come on a lot of road trips just because wanting to have my help in raising them and do our parenting thing. So it is definitely something you can think about every night.”
Boston slugger JD Martinez added to the continuing controversy on Thursday by saying the Red Sox were ready for the Astros in the 2018 American League Championship Series, not because former Houston bench coach Alex Cora had become their manager but because of Fiers. Boston won the series in five games.