Kevin Millar believes that time will heal the wounds of the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, but the club needs to keep quiet to help themselves.
Former MLB player and current MLB Network commentator Kevin Millar believes that “time will heal” all of the anger directed at the Houston Astros right now, but says the 2017 World Series champions need to keep their mouths shut to help the league move on.
“I think right now the Astros need to shut up, play baseball, take the beans, from the radio shows, the TV shows, everything else, and just play,” Millar said in an interview with FanSided’s Mark Carman. “Because they made a severe mistake, they really did. They crossed the line on stealing signs.”
The Astros were of course found to have been stealing signs and cheating via a center-field camera, bangs on a trashcan and more. Fellow players and fans have not accepted MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the investigation or the halfhearted apologies given by the Astros at the beginning of spring training.
“When you start implementing devices and secret stuff, that is definitely over the line, then that is definitely a B.S. thing,” Millar said. “It’s going to be a tough year for the Astros, but I’ll tell you this, if I was in that locker room I’d gather my teammates around and say ‘Hey, shut up, don’t say another word.’ I don’t want to hear another statement from these guys saying how pure they were and they only did it this time or that time. Uh uh. Just play baseball and go win baseball games.”
Millar said he totally understands why active players who have competed against the Astros are feeling hate or anger. But he also said that players shouldn’t be condemned totally.
“We forget about all the good that someone does when something bad goes on, right? It’s like ‘Ah! ha ha!’ we want to see everyone fall and take away their rings and be out of baseball and take away their money. Come on. Is this the first time we’ve seen players or athletes get in trouble? No. And we always forgive and like I said, time heals.”
Millar was speaking on behalf of Goodyear Auto Service and Just Tires: “To underscore the importance of spring car care, Goodyear Auto Service and Just Tires have also teamed up with former baseball player and longtime auto enthusiast, Kevin Millar, who’s well-versed in a different kind of “spring training.” An avid road-tripper – and having witnessed thousands of fans travel to spring training by car – Millar knows firsthand the importance of having a vehicle that’s in prime condition for driving. To learn more, visit www.goodyearautoservice.com or www.JustTires.com.”