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On Friday, Collin McHugh joined Mike Fiers and Ken Giles as former Houston Astros pitchers who now say they regret not doing something about the team’s illegal sign-stealing during its 2017 World Series championship run.
While not going so far as to offer giving his World Series ring back like Fiers and Giles have done, McHugh, now a member of the Boston Red Sox after signing a one-year deal on Thursday (who have their own sign-stealing issues still to settle with MLB), McHugh did still have a lot to say.
“You’ve got to be willing to stick up for what you believe in and what you believe is right and what you believe is wrong,” ESPN reports McHugh said. “And I think a lot of the guys on that team, including myself, are looking back now and wishing we had been as brave in the moment as we thought we were beforehand.”
McHugh, who pitched for the Astros from 2014 through 2019 and in eight post-season games including one in the 2017 World Series, added, “To put myself in the shoes of the guys who pitched against us in 2017 and to know that our hitters made that job that much harder that year — it’s hard to swallow. And I feel for them and I understand the anger and I understand when people are mad and pissed off. I get it. I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to be out there and feel like a team has your signs. It’s a lonely place.”
McHugh, who says he’s been thinking about the Astros scandal a lot lately, claims “we truly believed — or we were made to believe — that it was happening to us, too.”
That being said, he doesn’t excuse himself or the other pitchers on the team.
“Maybe we could’ve gotten together and somehow tried to stop it. Yeah, it was tough watching that,” he said. “You feel for guys out there who are working their tails off, whether they’re on your team or against you. I love seeing good pitching and it took some really good pitching that year to beat us.”
No kidding.
Previously…
• The Astros Are Seriously Going To Hold A Public Ring Ceremony On Opening Weekend For Their ALCS Win
• MLB Scout Says League Will Need ‘Riot Teams, SWAT’ To Protect The Astros In Their First Game At Yankees Stadium
• Red Sox Star J.D. Martinez Says Mike Fiers Warned Him About The Astros’ Cheating Before The 2018 ALCS
• Houston Astros File 26-Page Response To The First Of 7 Lawsuits: ‘Rule Infractions Will Occur During The Games’
• Astros Owner Jim Crane Sends Desperate-Sounding Letter To Season Ticket Holders Vowing To ‘Make Houston Proud Again’
• Astros Owner Jim Crane Actually Thought The Sign-Stealing Scandal Would ‘Blow Over’ By Spring Training: Report
• Astros Player When Asked How Things Are Going In Their Clubhouse Right Now: ‘It’s A (Bleeping) Mess’
• Alex Bregman Said In October His Favorite ‘Unwritten Rule’ Of Baseball Is Players Getting Drilled For ‘Stupid Stuff’
• Astros GM Admits Employees Tied To ‘Codebreaker’ Sign-Stealing Program Are Still Employed By The Team
• Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Vlad Guerrero Jr. And More MLB Stars Make Bold Statements About Astros Scandal
• MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Passes The Buck Explaining Why He Didn’t Strip Astros Of World Series Title
• Angels Pitcher Goes On Epic Rant That Perfectly Encapsulates How Bad This Season Is Going To Be For Astros Players
• Carlos Beltran Reportedly ‘Steamrolled’ Any Astros Players Who Disagreed With The Team’s Sign-Stealing Scheme
• New Catalog Featuring Astros’ Alex Bregman Is Getting Destroyed For The Ironic Slogan On The Cover
• Agent Scott Boras Incredibly Says Houston Astros Players Shouldn’t Apologize For Sign-Stealing Scandal
• Wondering Why Astros Players Weren’t Punished By MLB? They Reportedly ‘Didn’t Know They Were In The Wrong’
• Former A’s Teammate Says Mike Fiers Told MLB Astros Began Cheating In 2014, Continued Into 2019
• 1993 Cy Young Winner Jack McDowell Says Tony LaRussa Stole Signs Using A Camera With The White Sox In The 1980s
• ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza Is Getting Dragged For Her Horrible Take That Mike Fiers Shouldn’t Have Outed The Astros
• Pete Rose Goes On Rant About Why The Astros’ Cheating Is Way Worse Than Him Betting On Baseball Games
• Mike Clevinger Puts Astros Pitcher Lance McCullers In A Body Bag After He Tries To Clap Back About Cheating