Houston Astros players have gotten threats “every day” since the team’s 2017-18 sign-stealing scheme came to light in recent weeks, according to outfielder Josh Reddick, who said Friday that messages he has received also targeted his family.
“You just see the first things in your suggested box and it just says, ‘I will kill your family. I will kill your kids. Blah blah blah,'” Reddick said. “It’s depressing to read because it’s over a game of baseball. It’s not worth that kind of drastic measure.”
Reddick, who did not take part in the trash-can-banging scheme, said the threats he has received so far were limited to social media. He spoke about his experiences one day after former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, who revealed to The Athletic in November that the Astros were stealing signs in violation of MLB rules, said he had received death threats.
As he enters his 12th major league season and fourth with the Astros, Reddick said he expects to hear more from fans about the issue both on and off the field, to the point where he thinks “it could be very dangerous outside of the ballpark to even bring your family.”
“There are ways to add security to a lot of places on the road whether it be in our hotels, on the way to the field,” he said. “At the field, obviously, being a lot more hostile environment. Be a little crazier. I think, also, at the hotels because you see a lot of people line up at our hotels. They know where we stay, they know what times we usually go to the ballpark. And what time we get back.
“For me, myself having almost 5-month-old boys, it is going to be pretty scary because my wife is going to go want to come on a lot of road trips just because wanting to have my help in raising them and do our parenting thing. So it is definitely something you can think about every night.”
Tony Clark, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, met with the Astros in West Palm Beach, Florida, for nearly four hours Friday, then spoke to reporters.
Clark talked about the concerns of Houston’s players, saying, “There are undoubtedly concerns out there based on some of the commentary. … There’s a heightened sense of concern to make sure that themselves and their families are protected.
“There’s no doubt making sure that our players and their families are able to go to and from the ballpark and perform safely is a huge piece of the puzzle,” he said.
Astros players won’t necessarily be safe when the games begin, as pitchers such as the Cleveland Indians‘ Mike Clevinger and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Ross Stripling have hinted at the possibility of throwing at Houston batters.
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout this week joined a long list of players who have been critical of the Astros’ actions, saying he “lost some respect for some guys.” Reddick said he didn’t believe condemnation from opponents was adding fuel to the online threats, but he said he would like to see a more unified front in light of the messages.
“I think the best situation for us is to have our families be safe and ourselves be safe,” Reddick said. “But yeah, I think player unity is going to be a big thing. Especially with the way things are going now and way things will be in a couple of years to renegotiate stuff. I think that is one way the players need to get united. I think the more we are one on the same page and united it is going to be better for the whole game. It may take time the way this thing is being handled right now. I think ultimately the family safety is a big issue right now.”
For now, Reddick said his plan to deal with the most egregious messages is largely to “just avoid clicking on it,” but he still gets angry when he sees people threatening his children.
“I put a post of my kid rolling over for the first time and I gotta look down there and see ‘I hope your kid gets cancer,'” Reddick said. “It makes you really want to see that person in person. Really makes you want to go up to him and see what they would do if you put your face to their face and really get a little bit of retribution for yourself. Pisses you off.”