Crackdown on sign stealing has begun

Report: Commissioner’s memo restricts uses of technology

Major League Baseball is taking new steps to curtail sign stealing in the digital age, according to multiple media reports.

Commissioner Rob Manfred has circulated a fivepage memo to teams enforcing the league’s existing sign-stealing rules and outlining new ones governing the use of technology and replay systems.

Teams may not position cameras between the foul poles in the outfield if not for broadcast purposes. Team replay assistants, who help notify managers when to challenge a call on the field, will have access only to the live game broadcast and will be monitored by a security expert. All other TV monitors available to players and coaches, such as screens in the bullpen or clubhouse, will show the live game broadcast on an eight-second delay. Sports Illustrated first reported the changes. Teams found in violation of the rules could be punished with forfeited draft picks and international spending money. PITCH LIMITS: Amateur baseball officials in Japan are debating the introduction of pitch limits aimed at preventing injuries to high school players. “They have pitch limits in U.S. amateur baseball but not here,” outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo of the Yokohama BayStars said at a recent media conference. “If you don’t think about protecting children there is no point in making baseball more popular. We need to think about the real value of sports, not just winning.”

As a teenager, Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 250 pitches in 17 innings in the quarterfinals of the 1998 summer tournament, one day after a 148-pitch complete game shutout. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011 while with the Boston Red Sox.