![]() Assistant Astros GM Brandon Taubman received a lifetime ban.Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J.Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic exposed the scandal in November 2019, and since then, the league has handed down punishments of varying degrees of severity. The Red Sox employed a similar scheme in 2018, which also culminated in a World Series title. This threat did not serve as an effective deterrent, as the Houston Astros went on to orchestrate an elaborate sign-stealing scandal, one involving illegal video feeds and trash-can banging, en route to a World Series victory in 2017. “Future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks,” Manfred wrote in the notice delivered to all 30 teams. In a memo released in September 2017, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred announced fines for both teams, citing the Red Sox’ use of Apple Watches, and the Yankees’ misuse of a bullpen phone. Boston admitted to violating the rules, but not before alleging the Yankees used the YES Network feeds to pick up their signs. The first prominent incident occurred in the summer of 2017, when the Yankees complained that Red Sox used an Apple Watch to track New York’s signs. ![]() Today’s scandal involves the use of electronic devices, which are expressly prohibited by Major League Baseball, to steal signs. It may be against the unwritten rules-teams don’t like it, and they often get into disputes about it-but there are no penalties the league can levy against stealing signs. If you know what type of pitch is coming, you eliminate the element of surprise and have a better chance of hitting.Ĭonventional sign stealing is not prohibited by baseball. This knowledge removes asymmetric informational advantage the battery has over batters. If you want to zoom all the way out, sign stealing refers to the practice by which teams attempt to pick up the signs used by opposing pitchers and catchers to communicate pitch sequences. It’s a confusing situation, with a number of moving pieces, which makes this a good occasion to break it down, Vox Explainer style. The news sent fans from a number of teams scrambling, with supporters of the Astros and Red Sox taking a victory lap, and the Yankees Universe on the defensive. In the early morning hours, Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription required) reported that Judge Jed Rakoff, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, moved to release a letter allegedly further implicating the Yankees in baseball’s sign-stealing scandal. ![]() When I said I wanted to write about something other than baseball’s labor fight, I should have been more specific.
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