- Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz came out swinging on the Astros cheating scandal.
- He torched Mike Fiers, the whistleblower who exposed the sign-stealing scheme, as “a snitch.”
- Ortiz has no place to be calling anyone’s integrity into question.
David Ortiz may only be a spring training instructor for the Boston Red Sox organization this year, but he’s making headlines like it’s 2013.
There’s been a lot said about the Astros cheating scandal, with most of the angry words aimed in one direction: at the Astros organization, owner Jim Crane, and the players involved.
But Big Papi isn’t one to follow a crowd. He took a different stance when addressing reporters this week.
David Ortiz torches Astros’ snitch’
According to Ortiz, Mike Fiers – the former Astros player who blew the whistle on the scandal – is “a snitch.”
Listen to Ortiz’s full comments below (via NESN on Twitter):
Seriously, what? I felt like I was watching a season one rerun of The Wire for a moment there.
I can see where Ortiz is coming from when he asks why Mike Fiers waited so long before breaking his silence.
But to call the guy a snitch?
Big Papi is showing his age there using a term like that!
We’ve since seen Jose Canseco come out in support of the Oakland pitcher while taking a backhanded swipe at Ortiz for performance-enhancing drugs:
It seems that “snitches” stick together!
Who is David Ortiz to question anyone on cheating?
As soon as Ortiz’s comments hit the headlines, you knew what kind of reaction he was going to get.
His involvement in the 2003 confidential drug testing program run by MLB has been much-discussed over the years.
The only thing more astounding than Ortiz being implicated was when he appeared at that infamous 2009 press conference and failed to keep his facts straight.
When asked about PEDs, he claimed he had been taking supplements and vitamins. Which supplements? He didn’t know.
Talk about making things worse.
It stands to reason then that David Ortiz wouldn’t look favorably on anyone who blows the whistle on cheating.
Red Sox PR can’t be happy about this
What’s really head-scratching is that Ortiz is giving hot takes on such a controversial issue while representing a ball club that’s under investigation for the same allegations.
Didn’t the Red Sox PR team know he was going out there to speak to the media? Don’t they have people employed to help them avoid situations exactly like this?
What were they thinking? “Okay, let’s send out PED-head David Ortiz to be all controversial over the sign-stealing issue, despite us being under investigation for the exact same thing.”
What could possibly go wrong?
Are the Red Sox employing the same PR firm as Jim Crane and the Astros?
Baseball is turning into amateur hour
Judging by how MLB has behaved since the scandal broke, it looks like the three of them got a group rate!
Consider the way the league dealt with the Astros post-investigation. And how the Astros managed to turn an apology into an affront to human intelligence and decency. And finally, the way the Red Sox absent-mindedly allowed David Ortiz to remind everyone of his alleged cheating. Not to mention the role the Red Sox still have to play in the sign-stealing scandal themselves.
It really has been amateur hour in the baseball world of late. What a time to be a fan!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
This article was edited by Josiah Wilmoth.
