Could this benefit the Houston Astros?
It's an insensitive question I've been asked quite a bit since the coronavirus pandemic placed a halt on the sports world.
Tuesday would have been a day where the A's would host the Houston Astros in Oakland before the season was postponed.
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It has been over four months since A's pitcher Mike Fiers blew the whistle on Houston's cheating ways. In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Fiers admitted the Astros would steal signs electronically during their 2017 World Series run. Fiers was on the team during the championship season.
“I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they’re going in there not knowing,” Fiers said.
Time has passed, but people have forgetten. Not fans, not the media and especially not the players.
When Fiers arrived at A's media availability the day prior to FanFest in January, his teammates were there to support him. His manager, Bob Melvin, was there to support him as well. And after he made a joke to fans at Jack London Square he was staying off the internet during the offseason, it appeared green and gold fans also had his back.
Oakland Athletics
Players like Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer have been outspoken about how important players like Fiers are to the game. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred echoed those sentiments saying not only was he important to bringing the information to light, but said this would have gone public one day. Fiers just sped up the process.
The time that has passed, and will pass before the season goes back to the way it was, will not be a time to move on from this. This happened.
The world is going through some unthinkable circumstances at the moment. Circumstances that do not compare to banging on trash cans or buzzers under uniforms.
[RELATED: Fiers looks to mentor Puk, Luzardo this season]
But when the Astros take the field, they'll know the world will be watching, and we'll remember the attempt Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman made to apologize on behalf of their teammates during spring training. The baseball faithful will be happy the sport is back, and we can hope we all remain healthy during that wait.
An A's-Astros matchup would have created the overall tone of the season stretching beyond just Fiers facing his former team.
But we won't forget.