Many would argue Mike Fiers showed courage by going public about the Houston Astros' electronic sign-stealing system in 2017.
But Pedro Martinez is decidedly in the other camp.
The former Boston Red Sox pitcher called Fiers a "bad teammate" for exposing the Astros for cheating after he left the team, rather than taking a stand while he was still in Houston.
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"If he was to do it when he was playing for the Houston Astros I would say Mike Fiers has guts," Martinez told WEEI's Rob Bradford, Lou Merloni and Mike Mutnansky at the Red Sox' "Winter Weekend" event in Springfield, Mass.
"But to go and do it after you leave the Houston Astros because they don’t have you anymore, that doesn’t show me anything."
Fiers, who left the Astros following the 2017 season, admitted he wasn't on great terms with Houston after sharing its sign-stealing operation with his next two clubs, the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics.
That's where Martinez takes issue with the veteran pitcher for "selling out" his former teammates over a grudge with the organization.
"Whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse and Fiers broke the rules," Martinez said. "I agree with cleaning up the game. I agree that the fact that the Commissioner is taking a hard hand on this, but at the same time, players should not be the one dropping the whistle-blower."
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Martinez might be a little biased: He's on the Red Sox' payroll as a special assistant, and Fiers' whistle-blowing played a role in manager Alex Cora parting ways with Boston ahead of what should be harsh sanctions from Major League Baseball.
The Baseball Hall of Famer is adamant Fiers could have handled things differently, though.
"If you have integrity you find ways to tell everybody in the clubhouse, ‘Hey, we might get in trouble for this. I don’t want to be part of this.’ " Martinez said.
"You call your GM. You tell him. Or you call anybody you can or MLB or someone and say, ‘I don’t want to be part of this.’ Or you tell the team, ‘Get me out of here, I don’t want to be part of this.’ Then you show me something.
"But if you leave Houston and most likely you didn’t agree with Houston when you left and then you go and drop the entire team under the bus I don’t trust you. I won’t trust you because did have that rule."
Reprimanding a whistle-blower is a controversial stance, but Martinez isn't alone: ESPN analyst Jessica Mendoza and former MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins have voiced similar opinions on Fiers since MLB punished the Astros.