Yanks could face embarrassment over release of sign-stealing letter
TAMPA — The Yankees are getting dragged into the Astros and Red Sox cheating scandals, this time through the courts. On Friday, a U.S. District Court ordered a letter to the Yankees from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred be made public, as the fallout continues from a lawsuit by DraftKings bettors against MLB and the Bombers’ two biggest rivals.
The letter that U.S. District Court judge Judge Jed Rakoff ruled should be unsealed was sent to Yankees GM Brian Cashman in conclusion of the 2017 MLB investigation over sign-stealing allegations, according to sources. That investigation was better known for the Red Sox getting caught using an Apple Watch in the dugout, because it was the point that Manfred tightened up the electronic sign stealing rules.
When the Yankees accused the Red Sox of using the Apple Watch, however, it was reported that Boston had filed a counter complaint, accusing them of using their YES Network cameras to steal signs. In a press release, Manfred said there was “insufficient evidence” to that allegations. The league did fine them an undisclosed amount for misuse of dugout phones, something that happened at some point in a season before 2017.
According to a source, the letter in question includes those allegations made against the Yankees. In court documents, the Yankees and MLB argue that the letter could cause embarrassment to those named. Rakoff delayed the unsealing of the letter until Friday, in anticipation of an emergency appeal, which the Yankees are expected to do.
The plaintiffs want the letter unsealed because they believe it shows Manfred’s “duplicity.”
For the Yankees, however, that embarrassment is all that is really at stake. They are at no risk for further investigation or punishment.
Manfred tightened the rules on electronic sign-stealing and made a point to broadcast that the punishment would include the forfeiture of draft picks if it happened after the 2017 regular season. That means that any accusations about electronic sign stealing prior to 2017 fall in a “gray area” when the rules were not well-defined and would not be investigated or punishable under the current MLB rules.
The Yankees denied the accusation. The allegations included in the letter were exactly what MLB investigated in 2017 which resulted in the fine. eged that MLB, the Astros and the Red Sox were liable for the money DraftKings players (bettors) lost during games in which Houston and Boston may have cheated. While an appeal of the lawsuit was also dismissed, the amended complaint the plaintiffs alleged that the 2017 investigation “had in fact found the Yankees engaged in a more serious sign-stealing scheme” than was revealed at the time.
The Yankees denied the accusation. Those allegations included in the letter were exactly what MLB investigated in 2017 which resulted in the fine.
While the Yankees argue that
the letter would embarrass those named in it, Rakoff ruled that “much of the letter’s contents have already been revealed in the 2017 Press Release,” which announced the findings of the investigation.
There has been allegations of sign stealing throughout baseball for years, but only the Astros and Red Sox have been punished by MLB for violating the current rules.
The Astros were found to have illegally used their video in their replay room to steal opposing catchers’ signs and then using a bat to bang on a trash can to relay what pitch was coming in real-time to hitters.
They were fined $5 million, had their first-round draft picks taken away and GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for a year and then fired by the team. Astros players were given immunity in the investigation, but Carlos Beltran, a player at the time, was named in the investigation and was forced to step down from his job as Mets manager before his first day at spring training. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was the bench coach on that 2017 Astros’ World Series championship team and implicated in the scheme, was fired by Boston for his role and later suspended for a year.