Did you know?

Sign stealing to help hitters know what pitch is coming has long been a part of baseball lore. Often times it happens when a runner at second base peers in to see the catcher’s sign and then subtly flashes a signal – maybe a hand movement, or the positioning of his feet – to the batter to let him know whether the next pitch will be a fastball, curveball or something else.

The most famous example of sign stealing was a secret for almost a half-century. It took that long before it was positively revealed the New York Giants used a spyglass-and-buzzer system to relay pitch signals to their hitters during their famed 1951 chase of the Brooklyn Dodgers, which culminated with Bobby Thomson’s bottom-of-the-ninth, winning homer in the decisive Game 3 of their NL playoff.

To combat signs being stolen, teams often change their signals when an opposing runner reaches second base.

Players are allowed to try to figure out the opponents’ signals on their own. Computers, cameras and electronics are not permitted. “Electronics is the world we live in today,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s changed the world we live in and it will continue to change as we move on. Again, there has to be something the catcher, the pitcher and the middle infielders can do to combat all this. Football’s gone to headset. They’ve talked about how they don’t know how feasible that is in the game of baseball, but I think we have to try something.”