When Evan Gattis showed remorse for Astros cheating saga: "We obviously cheated baseball and cheated fans. Fans felt duped"

Back in 2020, former Houston Astros player Evan Gattis opened up about the Astros' sign stealing saga. He acknowledged that the team and its players had cheated the game and especially the fans.

Evan Gattis is a former designated hitter and catcher who played in the MLB from 2013 through to 2018. He won the World Series in 2017 with the Astros after being traded from the Atlanta Braves. He was part of the 2017-18 Astros roster that has since become infamous for the sign-stealing scandal.

The Athletic published an article in 2019 that outlined how the Astros used electronic equipment to monitor what an opposing pitcher was going to throw. Astros staffers would determine the pitch by stealing the catcher’s signs and then alert the batter about what pitch was coming. Evan Gattis had told The Athletic's "755 is Real" podcast that it was disappointing that they had cheated their fans this way.

"Everybody wants to be the best player in the f---ing world, man," Gattis had said. "And we cheated that, for sure. And we obviously cheated baseball and cheated fans. Fans felt duped. I feel bad for fans"

"I'm not asking for sympathy or anything like that. If our punishment is being hated by everybody forever, just like, whatever. I don't know what should be done, but something had to f---ing be done. I do agree with that, big-time. I do think it's good for baseball that we're cleaning it up. ... And I understand that it's not f---ing good enough to say sorry. I get it", Gattis added.

Many officials were suspended by the Astros after the incident came into the limelight. Manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were given one-year bans and eventually let go by the franchise.

Evan Gattis said "No one was forced to do it"

Gattis also went on to say that none of the players from the Astros were made a part of the sign stealing against their will. They had their choice whether to be part of the scheme or not. However, he also agreed that the situation was very powerful and the influence was certainly there.

"Nobody made us do s---. You know what I'm saying? People saying this guy made us, that guy made us. That's not it," Gattis said. "But you have to understand the situation was powerful."

"You work your whole life to try to f---ing hit a ball, and you mean you can tell me what's coming? It was like, 'What?' It's a powerful thing, and there's millions of dollars on line and s---. And that's the bad of it, too, that's where people got hurt. And that's not right. That's not playing the game right."

Evan Gattis had a premature end to his career when he announced his retirement while in free agency during the 2018-19 offseason.