Former New York Yankees star and current ESPN baseball analyst Alex Rodriguez says the Houston Astros’ lack of remorse in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal is antagonizing fans.

“I think the one thing that really has upset the fans is you cheat, you win a championship, there is no suspension and then there is no remorse. And the last one I think is probably the worst one because people want to see remorse. They want a real, authentic apology and they have not received that thus far,” he said Tuesday during a spring game between the Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

If there’s anyone qualified to talk about a public apology, it’s A-Rod.

Rodriguez was suspended the entire 2014 season by MLB after he was found to be a central figure in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal of 2012 and 2013. He returned the year after in 2015 and enjoyed his best season in years, hitting 33 home runs and slugging .486. Rodriguez retired the season after, finishing with 14 All-Star appearances and 696 career home runs.

“I can just tell you this. From a guy who has made, you know, as many mistakes as anybody on the biggest stage. I served the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history and it cost me well over $35 million. And you know what? I deserved that,” he said. “And, as a result, I came back; I owned it after acting like a buffoon for a long time. I had my apologies and then I went dark. And I wanted my next move to be contrite, but I also wanted to go out and play good baseball and change my narrative. And the way you change your narrative is you have to be accountable. You’ve earned all this negative talk. You’ve earned whatever comes your way –including whether it’s hit by a pitch or negative press. You have divorced yourself from having the ability to protect yourself.”

The Astros have been criticized by many, including Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger and Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette.

"I am really sorry about the choices that were made by my team, by the organization and by me. I have learned from this and I hope to regain the trust of baseball fans," Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said in mid-February.

“I especially feel remorse for the impact on our fans and the game of baseball,” Jose Altuve said last month.

Astros owner Jim Crane took extra heat when he said “our opinion is that this didn’t impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series and we’ll leave it at that.”

The Astros were fined $5 million by MLB and were forced to forfeit their next two first and second-round draft picks. General manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were both handed one-year suspensions and fired by the Astros soon after. Carlos Beltran, who was found to be one of the centrepieces in the scandal, parted ways with the New York Mets shortly after being hired as manager. 

The Astros will open the regular season at home against the Los Angeles Angels on March 26.