Ex-Astros pitcher Collin McHugh: Watching hitters steal signs was ‘tough’

Collin McHugh pitched for the Houston Astros from 2014-2019 and won the World Series with them in 2017. He’s now with the Boston Red Sox after signing a one-year deal with them this week.

Appearing at Spring Training on Friday, McHugh answered some questions from reporters about his time with Houston. Here are his comments via the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.

New #RedSox pitcher Collin McHugh said it was "really awkward" for pitchers on the 2017 Astros as their hitters stole signs.

Interesting comments here: pic.twitter.com/WuAjYNxC24

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 6, 2020

McHugh says Astros players were made to believe that everyone else was doing it, so they would be at a disadvantage by not doing it. He also says that as pitchers, they didn’t like what they hitters were doing, acknowledged it was “tough” watching, but they didn’t know how to stop it.

That’s no excuse — somebody who knew it was wrong should have stepped up and done something — but nobody did. And they were in the middle of a World Series season, so there probably was little motivation for stopping things.

This is also exactly what we have heard as the reason. Specifically, Carlos Beltran was made out to be the guy who steamrolled anyone who stood in his way of implementing the scheme.

The Houston Astros are confirmed cheaters and deserve an asterisk. Send that message by wearing our Houston Asterisks T-shirt! You can buy it here: