'Got to be a tough spot': Ex-Astros pitcher Will Harris finds himself in strange situation with Nationals

Bob Nightengale | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Astros’ apology tour: It was wrong, but didn't taint team's legacy What I’m Hearing: The Astros’ may be apologizing but they are not giving up that championship.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Imagine showing up to a new school and wondering if everyone already hates you.

Such is life this month for veteran reliever Will Harris.

Here he is trying to get acclimated and familiarize himself with new teammates in the Washington Nationals clubhouse.

And here is, watching those new teammates ripping his best friends and former Houston Astros teammates, who happen to share the same spring training complex.

“Oh, man,’’ Harris said Sunday morning. “They’re obviously my friends, and guys that I consider family, guys I will have a relationship with the rest of my life, hopefully.

“And now watching them go through this...’’

Harris’ voice trails off, and he stares in the distance.

He spent his past five years with the Astros. He won a World Series in 2017, the year they were caught cheating. And Harris nearly won a second title in 2019, but blew a save opportunity and took the loss in Game 7, giving up a go-ahead two-run homer to Howie Kendrick.

So here he is each day, watching his new teammates bask in their first World Series title, while watching his old teammates get scorched by everyone around baseball, with plenty of people skeptical that team didn't also cheat in 2019.

“People lose sight in this whole thing that in 2019, from everybody’s knowledge all of the way down,’’ Harris told USA TODAY Sports, “was a straight-up year. Everything guys accomplished last year proves that.

“It’s just no one wants to believe it. You can’t sit here and try to change people’s minds. Everybody has a right to their opinion. It’s the country we live in. That’s the way it is.

“You just have to understand that over a vast majority of my time in Houston, it was straight-up. If you know that internally, that just has to be enough.’’

Harris, who signed a three-year, $24 million free-agent contract with the Nats, has tried to convey the message. He already has talked to several of his teammates. He has told all of them he’s available for any questions they may have. And, yes, even though he was just a pitcher and didn’t benefit from the sign-stealing, he apologizes, too.

“I think a lot of guys in here empathize with what he's going through what he’s going through," said Nationals closer Sean Doolittle, whose locker is next to Harris'. “It’s got to be a tough spot what he’s going through and coming over here into this clubhouse with everything hanging over his former team. But he has endeared himself to us just by the way he’s handled everything so far in spring training. It’s not easy what happened in ’17. It doesn’t make it right by just saying, you’re sorry.

“But he apologized, and the way he’s handled it, a lot of guys have really respected it. He’s been up-front. He’s been remorseful. I appreciate his apology. I thought it was a lot more genuine than the other stuff we heard Thursday. I know that’s a low bar to clear, but I thought it was genuine.’’

Still, there are those who don’t want to hear any excuses. Anyone could have stopped it. No one did. Maybe no one ever tried.

“I have not talked to (Harris) about it,’’ Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said, “but you know he’s part of it. He has got to live with it. He has got to wear it like everybody else.’’

Said Doolittle: “He was in tough spot over there. There’s a lot of cheating going on in your clubhouse, but as a relief pitcher, 'How do I speak up and say something about this?’ I’m not saying it makes it right or wrong what he did, but I can empathize with that.’’

Doolittle just wants accountability and sincere apologies from the Astros, like he's gotten from Harris.

“Those guys are trying to convince themselves they’re not the only team doing anything,’’ Doolittle said. “I haven’t heard anything. I haven’t seen anything it. It sounds kind of desperate. It sounds like they’re trying to deflect blame.

“I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Thursday (with the Astros press conference) didn’t help. They made it worse. They’re not doing themselves any favors with these mealy-mouthed apologies.’’

Harris knows it will be a nightmare for his former teammates this year. The moment anyone struggles, they’ll have their entire career questioned. The booing and taunting on the road will be unlike anything they’ve heard before.

“It’s the world we live in now, the negative stuff is going to get a lot of press,’’ Harris said. “Even if their apologies were 90% well-received, the other 10% will be talked about and spread all over the world.’’

It’s no different than with Carlos Correa standing up to support Altuve, insisting he never was part of the sign-stealing scheme, and fully deserved to win the 2017 American League MVP award.

The message was emotional, and appeared heartfelt, but who knows if anyone is truly listening?

“I don’t think he has liked Altuve becoming a punching bag,’’ Harris said. “But now Carlos opens himself up. It’s not all going to be positive. There are going to be more questions now.

“All I know is that it’s a mess.

“I feel for them, I really do.’’

Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale