Teams’ video access to be restricted during games

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Astros’ electronic sign-stealing scandal, coupled with the current investigation into the Boston Red Sox, will spur a new MLB technology and video policy, scheduled to be in place before the 2020 season, commissioner Rob Manfred said Sunday.

The new policy will center on restricting access to video during games, Manfred said. A more specific timeline for implementation — which must be agreed upon between the league and its players association — is unclear.

“I don’t deny that video can help you perform if you have access to it during the game,” Manfred told ESPN. “A golfer can’t come off on the sixth hole and take a quick look at what he’s doing with his swing. We’re going to have to learn to live with less access to live video in and around the dugout and clubhouse.”

In response to rampant rumors of electronic sign stealing, Manfred revised the rules on technology and video prior to the 2019 season. He placed volunteers called “video monitors” in every clubhouse to surveil in-game access to video and report any wrongdoing.

All televisions in and around a clubhouse or dugout must show the game on an eight-second delay. The only place live video is permitted is inside the replay room, which could be subject to stricter supervision under Manfred’s new policy.

“I do expect that we will, for 2020, have really serious restrictions on player and player personnel access to video in-game,” Manfred said. “I think it was really important to us to send a message to our fans that not only did we investigate and punish but we altered our policies in a way to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.”

The Astros’ sign-stealing scheme in 2017 originated in the team’s replay room, according to Manfred’s investigation. Employees inside used the live feed to start decoding signs — apparently aided by the algorithmic “Codebreaker” scheme developed by baseball operations staffers.

Initially, according to the investigation, former bench coach Alex Cora would call the replay room for signs, or an employee inside would send them via text message. After two months, Cora and a group of players altered the methods, and signs were relayed to hitters by banging on a trash can.

Dugout phone calls are now being recorded, Manfred said.

Manfred’s report found no evidence of Astros wrongdoing during the 2019 season, coinciding with the addition of the video monitors and live video restrictions. Still, players are not prohibited from leaving the dugout or entering the clubhouse during games, inviting more skepticism that nefarious actions won’t occur.

“I actually thought about this a little last night, thinking about the old days in baseball,” said 36-yearold Astros ace Justin Verlander. “You just see all the guys hanging out on the bench. It was a different time, but that’s also what I grew up watching. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not to just eliminate all (technology), but I think there’s a happy medium. What that is, I don’t know. What it would look like, I don’t know.”

Verlander rarely uses video during his starts. The Astros afforded him almost too much information upon his arrival, he said, making the deluge of data sometimes “difficult to ignore.” Verlander prefers to pick and choose what he feels most aids him.

“I’ll get in-game updates sometimes that my hips aren’t traveling down the mound as much, and I actually got mad at them a couple times for telling me stuff like that,” Verlander said. “For me personally, it just didn’t do any good. I see some guys love as much information as possible. First thing they want to do is go to the TrackMan information.”

Now, such a reliance may be in peril.

“Technology is here to stay,” said manager Dusty Baker. “You just have to monitor technology. That’s all. Technology has a place.”