RED HANDED
MLB calls out sign-stealing vs. rivals with twist on wrist
Sox-Yankees rivalry taken up a notch with allegations of high-tech thievery,
WASHINGTON— For decades, spying on another team has been as much a part of the gamesmanship of baseball as brushback pitches and hard slides. The Red Sox have apparently added a modern — and illicit — twist: They used an Apple Watch to gain an advantage against the Yankees and other teams.
Investigators for Major League Baseball have determined that the Boston Red Sox, who are in first place in the American League East and likely headed to the playoffs, executed a scheme to illicitly steal hand signals from opponents’ catchers in games against the second-place Yankees and other teams, according to several people briefed on the matter.
The baseball inquiry began about two weeks ago, after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman filed a detailed complaint with the commissioner’s office that included video the Yankees shot of the Red Sox dugout during a three-game series in Boston last month.
The Yankees, who had long been suspi- cious of the Red Sox stealing catchers’ signs in Fenway Park, contended the video showed a member of Boston’s training staff looking at his Apple Watch in the dugout and then relaying a message to players, who may have then been able to use the information to know the type of pitch that was going to be thrown, according to sources familiar with the case.
Baseball investigators corroborated the Yankees’ claims based on video the commissioner’s office uses for instant replay and broadcasts, the sources said. MLB then confronted the Red Sox, who admitted that their trainers had received signals from video replay personnel and then relayed that information to some players — an operation that had been in place for at least several weeks.
The Red Sox responded in kind on Tuesday, filing a complaint against the Yankees, claiming that the team uses a camera from its television network, YES, exclusively to steal signs.
It is unclear what penalties, if any, commissioner Rob Manfred will issue against the Red Sox and whether he will order a more expansive investigation to determine the extent of the Red Sox’s signstealing system.
It is also unclear how he will proceed with the counter-complaint.
Boston’s Rafael Devers homered after first runner to reach second vs. Yankees
“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 . . . we are 100-per-cent comfortable that it is not an ongoing issue — that if it happened, it is no longer happening,” Manfred told reporters Tuesday night at Fenway, before the Red Sox took on the Jays.
Some in baseball would like for Manfred to take away some of Boston’s victories, a move that would be highly unusual. Others believe that a significant fine and the docking of draft picks would be sufficient.
Red Sox manager John Farrell said the team is well aware of the rules.
“Electronic devices are not to be used in the dugout,” he told reporters before Tuesday’s game. “But beyond that, the only thing I can say it’s a league matter at this point.”
Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski said it was the first time a team he’d worked for had been formally accused of stealing signs.
“I do think sign stealing has been taking place for a long time. I will acknowledge that,” he said.
A Yankees official declined to comment on the Red Sox’s claim regarding the YES camera.
Stealing signs is believed to be most effective when there is a runner on second base who can watch what hand signals the catcher is using to communicate with the pitcher and then relay to the batter any clues about what type of pitch may be coming. Such tactics are allowed as long as teams do not use any methods beyond their eyes. Binoculars and electronic devices are prohibited to communicate about signs.
In recent years, as cameras have proliferated in ballparks, teams have begun using the abundance of video to help them discern opponents’ signs. Some clubs have had clubhouse attendants quickly relay information to the dugout from personnel monitoring video.
With that approach, the information has to be rushed to the dugout on foot so it can be passed to the runner on second base. The Red Sox seemed to shorten the communication chain — and more quickly get the information to their batters — by sending information electronically to people in the dugout.
The Red Sox told league investigators that team personnel scanning instant-replay video were electronically sending the pitch signs to the trainers, who were then passing the information to the players.
As part of the inquiry, baseball investigators have interviewed Red Sox team trainers and outfielder Chris Young, a former Yankees player. The Red Sox told league investigators that Farrell, Dombrowski and other front-office officials were not aware of the sign-stealing operation, sources told the New York Times.
In the first game of the series in question, the first time the Red Sox got a runner on second was Xander Bogaerts, in the second inning. Rafael Devers promptly hit a home run, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox went 5 for 8 in the first game when they had a man on second.
Their success when they had a runner on second in the other two games was mixed:1for 6 in the second game; and 3 for 10 in the third game.
The video provided to the commissioner’s office by the Yankees was captured during the first two games of the series and included at least three clips. The team’s assistant athletic trainer, Jon Jochim, is seen looking at his Apple Watch and then passing information to outfielder Brock Holt and second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was injured at the time but in uniform. In one instance, Pedroia is then seen passing the information to Young.
The Red Sox’s tactics will add to their intense rivalry with the Yankees, who closely trail them in the standings. Outside of New England, the case will be reminiscent of the Spygate controversy that erupted a decade ago when the Patriots were found to have violated NFL rules by spying on opponents to gain an edge.
Manfred is in a difficult position as he decides how to discipline the team and whether to continue investigating to determine if the Red Sox violated rules in other games, and who knew.
The Philadelphia Phillies faced sign-stealing accusations in 2011, when they were one of the best teams in baseball. Several teams logged complaints with the commissioner’s office that the team used binoculars and other unauthorized methods to steal signs. The Phillies were never sanctioned by MLB.