Mark Teixeira has a problem with those labeling Mike Fiers a ‘snitch’
David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez publicly took issue with the former Astros pitcher.
You’re looking like a snitch.Whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse and Fiers broke the rules.
After former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers outed his team for sign-stealing in an interview with The Athletic in November, he faced immense backlash from the baseball community for going against his former team. Red Sox legend David Ortiz expressed his anger toward Fiers, blasting him for essentially benefiting from the sign-stealing and calling him a “snitch.” Pedro Martinez expressed similar sentiments, stating that Fiers should have spoken up to people in the clubhouse, and deeming him untrustworthy.
However, former Yankees first baseman and current ESPN analyst Mark Teixeira does not agree with their criticism. On Monday, Teixeira responded to their backlash on “Get Up,” while also defending Fiers’s decision:
“This isn’t Goodfellas. This is the real world.”@teixeiramark25 is not a fan of players calling Mike Fiers a “snitch.” pic.twitter.com/RDND3zyK3g
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 24, 2020
“Players that are clean, whether it was during the steroid era or anybody that wasn’t on the Astros – they want these guys outed,” he said. “They want the Astros punished. So, for David Ortiz or Pedro Martinez or anybody — interesting that it’s two Boston players and Boston is actually a part of this investigation as well — so I think there’s some meaning behind that it’s two Red Sox players saying it. I just think that there are very few people out there that really even use the word ‘snitch’ and ‘rat’ anymore anyway.
“This isn’t Goodfellas, this is the real world,” he continued. “In the real world, you want bad things brought to light. You don’t want cheating, whether it’s in sports or in corporate America, you don’t want people breaking the law. So, Mike Fiers, it took a lot of guts for him to come out and I applaud him for doing that.”
When the argument was brought up that Fiers decided to speak up, only after going to a different team, Teixeira came to his defense yet again.
“First of all, you didn’t know that,” he said. “He could’ve said something every single day. I guarantee you in the dugout with pitchers, he’s saying, ‘Do you believe what these guys are doing?’. That’s what all the Astros pitchers are basically saying, ‘Hey I didn’t like it, but I had no control over it.’ When you have the GM, a guy like Carlos Beltran — who is a leader [and] a 20-year veteran in this game — that are saying, ‘This is what we do.’ and the entire front office was a part of this, you think a guy like Mike Fiers stopped this? I don’t buy the idea that he should have stopped this because he wasn’t in a position to stop this.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com