Now forever, Oakland Athletics’ pitcher Mike Fiers will remain part of one of the biggest controversies of the century. Not only was he a part of those 2017 sign-stealing Houston Astros, but Fiers was the initial whistle blower on the operation.
Therefore, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says that baseball will go to extended lengths to protect ‘heroes’ like Fiers in 2020 and beyond. However, Fiers says he doesn’t want the protection baseball provides. This story comes Wednesday from Alex Coffey of The Athletic MLB.
Yesterday, Rob Manfred said MLB would "protect" Mike Fiers.
Today, Fiers spoke with @TheAthletic about whether he feels he needs to be protected & why he came forward.
“I’m not asking for extra security. I’m here to play baseball & I can defend myself": https://t.co/BxN3t3DQyP
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) February 19, 2020
Indeed, I have mixed feelings on Fiers. To me he stands somewhere between hero and villain. For instance, I would have a hard time ratting out former teammates. On the other hand, the Astros were doing something very slimy. It’s a precarious thing to get my head around.
With that being said, here’s what Fiers says of the undefined offered protection that Manfried spoke about.
“I don’t know how they would. 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.”
While his trips to the plate will be limited, there could be someone out there who doesn’t appreciate what Fiers did. Perhaps someone whose father told them to never rat, much like mine did.
“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.”
Obviously this is just another very interesting wrinkle that will come up during the 2020 regular season. It is storylines like this one which could take an unfortunate even but still make ratings go up, and baseball be a bit more captivating to the everyday fan.
