‘Right thing’
» Rob Manfred defends Mike Fiers for blowing the whistle on the Astros’ scheme.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was firm Tuesday: A’s starter Mike Fiers deserves plaudits for his actions as the one public whistleblower in the Astros’ cheating scandal, not threats and vitriol.
“I want to be really clear about this: Mike, who I do not know at all, did the industry a service,” Manfred said.
Fiers has been the subject of all manner of online hatred and abuse since his comments to the Athletic website last November, which launched MLB’s investigation. When asked about concerns for Fiers’ safety in the face of numerous threats, Manfred said, “We will take every possible step to protect Mike Fiers wherever he’s playing, whether it’s in Houston or somewhere else.”
Manfred also said that the Astros banged trash cans to relay signs through the 2017 postseason.
The league’s report did not explicitly state that the scheme continued in the playoffs. Astros players, most notably shortstop Carlos Correa, have insisted the trash-can system was abandoned in the postseason because stadiums were too loud for the banging to be heard by batters. Manfred said Astros players admitted the scheme was used in the postseason during the league’s investigation.
Manfred said that after 2017, the league put protective measures in place to prevent real-time signstealing, including putting monitors in video rooms, tape recording dugout phones and regulating cameras in ballparks and he said MLB’s investigation showed those methods “slowed down and stopped people from doing things they should not do.”
After signing with Detroit after the 2017 season, Fiers told the Tigers about the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme, and he told the A’s when he joined them later in 2018. Oakland filed an official complaint, and according to Manfred, the league investigated but, he said, it’s difficult to determine wrongdoing inside a clubhouse without a whistleblower and player testimony. Essentially: Nothing would have happened had Fiers not spoken up, allowing MLB to go to the length of offering immunity to Astros players who spoke to investigators.
“I do believe we will be a better institution when we emerge at the end of this episode and without a Mike Fiers, we probably would have a very difficult time cleaning this up,” Manfred said. “I think we would have done it eventually, but it would have taken a lot longer.
“I have a real problem with anyone who suggests that Mike did anything but the right thing.”
Asked how many teams had filed complaints about the Astros besides Oakland, Manfred said, “It’s hard for me to give an exact number as I stand here. I recall the A’s complaint specifically; other teams did raise complaints about the Astros, but I want to be really clear about this: there were complaints with respect to other teams as well.”
Manfred also apologized for his “disrespectful” remarks in Florida on Sunday when he referred to the World Series trophy as “a piece of metal.”
“I made a mistake,” Manfred said. “I was trying to make a point, but I should have done it in a more effective way. … I’ve awarded five World Series trophies; there is no greater pleasure in this job than awarding that trophy. I understand what it means.”