Former Astros pitcher Collin McHugh signed this week with the Boston Red Sox, and as one would guess, he was grilled by the media regarding the 2017 sign stealing scandal.
"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," McHugh told reporters Friday, per ESPN. "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 also showed remorse for opposing pitchers who faced the Astros batters that year.
"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," McHugh said. "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 alluded that Astros pitchers thought that other teams were stealing their signs too.
"Sign stealing is universally across the board bad for pitchers. And we know that. It made our jobs harder," McHugh said. "And we truly believed — or we were made to believe — that it was happening to us, too. And we don't know if that was true or not, but that's not justification for doing anything. Just because you think they're doing it is not justification for doing something you know is not right.
"Looking back, I don't know what we could have done as pitchers. It wasn't really our territory. Maybe we could've gotten together and somehow tried to stop it. Yeah, it was tough watching that. 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."
Lastly, McHugh said it is going to be a long season for his former teammates in Houston.
"A lot of those guys are real close," McHugh said. "I feel for them because it's going to be a tough season. It's going to a long road ahead, and I know it's not going to be an easy road for them."