Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports

Jessica Mendoza criticizes Mike Fiers for outing Astros as cheaters

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 1/16/20

Major League Baseball was forced to publicly address its sign stealing scandal in large part because of Mike Fiers blowing the whistle on the Houston Astros, and the fact the pitcher ratted on his former team does not sit well with Jessica Mendoza.

Fiers chose to attach his name to the allegations he made against the Astros in the original bombshell story from The Athletic back in November, and that led to MLB’s investigation and ensuing disciplinary action. Since Houston’s sign stealing scheme helped Fiers win a World Series in 2017, Mendoza told ESPN’s Golic and Wingo she finds it “hard to swallow” that the right-hander went public rather than simply informing his new team about what the Astros were doing.

“To go public with it and call them out and start all of this, it’s hard to swallow.”

–@jessmendoza on former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers revealing the Astros sign-stealing scheme. pic.twitter.com/LSQY6B0dSC

— Golic and Wingo (@GolicAndWingo) January 16, 2020

Mendoza works as an MLB analyst for ESPN, but she was also hired last year as an adviser to New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. That is noteworthy since new Mets manager Carlos Beltran was heavily implicated in the Astros’ sign stealing scheme, and New York has yet to announce whether or not Beltran will be relieved of his duties before even managing a game with the team.

It’s unclear how Fiers will be viewed by his fellow players now, but Mendoza is not the only one bothered by him going public. Former Astros player and manager Phil Garner said this week that Fiers will now be considered a “rat” around the league.

The Athletic cited other anonymous sources besides Fiers, so it’s possible the story would have come out even without him going on the record. However, having a current player who spent time with the Astros attach his name to the allegations made the report much stronger. It also had some drastic consequences for some of those involved.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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