Stealing signs
Report says Red Sox used Apple Watch to relay stolen signals from Yankees
Looking for any edge in an age-old rivalry, the Boston Red Sox got called out in a high-tech sign-stealing scheme they ran on the New York Yankees.
The first-place Red Sox admitted to Major League Baseball they used an Apple Watch to relay signals from opposing catchers to Boston players, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Sign stealing has long been a part of the game, but employing electronic gadgets to do it is against the rules.
MLB is looking into allegations levied by the Yankees after a series between the teams last month in Boston. The Times said the Red Sox told MLB investigators Boston manager John Farrell, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and other team executives were not aware of the operation, which had been going on for weeks.
Commissioner Rob Manfred, who was at Fenway Park on Tuesday night as part of a previously planned visit, said he wanted to get the matter resolved quickly. He didn’t comment about possible penalties.
“The only thing that I can tell you about repercussions is that to the extent that there was a violation on either side — and I’m not saying that there was — to the extent that there was a violation on either side, we are 100 per cent comfortable that it is not an ongoing issue — that if it happened, it is no longer happening,” he said.
This isn’t the first time a successful Boston-area sports franchise has been accused of cheating in recent years.
New England Patriots star Tom Brady was suspended four games by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after the “Deflategate” investigation concluded the quarterback conspired to use illegally underinflated footballs in the 2015 AFC championship game. The Pats also were docked a first-round draft pick.
Years earlier, the five-time Super Bowl champions were caught videotaping signals being sent in by Jets coaches during a 2007 game — the Patriots lost a first-round pick in the 2008 draft and coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 in “Spygate.”
The Red Sox hold a narrow lead over the Yankees in the AL East race with a month left in the regular season.
The teams don’t play again this season.
Farrell said he knew the rule. “Electronic devices are not to be used in the dugout,” he said Tuesday before Boston hosted the Toronto Blue Jays. “But beyond that, the only thing I can say it’s a league matter at this point.”
Dombrowski said it was the first time a team he’d worked for had been formally accused of stealing signs.
“I’ve been in the game for 40 years. I’ve known of it for 40 years, sign stealing itself,” Dombrowski said.
“I’ve known of people that I talk to that played back in the ‘50’s that talked to me about sign stealing, so I do think sign stealing has been taking place for a long time. I will acknowledge that.”
The Times, according to unidentified sources, said the MLB probe started after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman filed a complaint with the commissioner’s office that included video.
The newspaper said the video showed a member of Boston’s training staff looking at his Apple Watch in the dugout and relaying a message to players.