It’s not “technically” against the rules. It’s in direct violation of a rule that was implemented specifically to prevent the thing they were doing.
The people in charge of baseball, and anyone who knows anything about baseball, knew that it was technically possible to view catchers signs from a center field camera and relay that information to the batter before the pitch. You don’t need to be some sort of baseball savant or code breaking genius to figure out 1 finger is a fastball, 2 is a curve and 3 is a changeup. Nor do you need to be particularly sophisticated to figure out how to signal to the batter, the Astros were banging on a garbage can, for chrissake.
The man in charge of MLB, Rob Manfred, said to the teams, rather than force teams to make complex, constantly changing pitching signs part of the game, we will make it against the rules to do this nonsense. All you have to do to stay in the good is to NOT use cameras and monitors to decode pitching signs during the game. The Astros decided “Fuck you, Commissioner Manfred, I’m doing it anyway”.
It’s a really big deal, like it or not, because it calls into question the results of championship games. The Astros won the 2017 World Series by the thinnest of margins. Did cheating help them? Perhaps it did, we can’t know, but a professional sports league has to clamp down on perceptions thatthe championships are tainted.
MLB LOOKS BAD as a result of this. Looking good is kind of the whole point of an entertainment business.
They broke a rule that was created/clarified that very year to stop the exact activity they were engaged in.
If it didn’t impact the game, it’s remarkably foolish to break such a specific rule to get no advantage over your opponent. If it did impact the game, it’s a pretty big deal to gain an advantage in a way that was specifically ruled against by the commissioner of the league.
Speaking as a life long Dodgers fan, I won’t be satisfied until Minute Maid Park is torn down so that no two stones lay together, the ground salted so nothing grows, the players, owners and crew put to the sword and their families sold into bondage in Canaan.
I just can’t summon up any outrage over it. Stealing and relaying signs is not illegal but certain methods of doing so are? pretty thin gruel to me. If it were such a game-changer why not just ban the practice outright?
In most situations, it is impossible to steal the signs without some kind of camera assistance, since the sign stealer is at least 300 feet away from the signaler.
The exception is the somewhat uncommon situation (? maybe 10 percent of the at bats ?) where the batting team has a runner at second base. In those cases the catcher and pitcher switch to a more complex code.
About 17%, in 2019. With a runner on second, batters had BA/OBP/SLG of .252/.336/.430 and with no runner on second they hit .252/.318/.435. So if teams are stealing signs with guys on second base, they’re mostly not doing a particularly good job.
Teams with a runner on second hit fewer home runs per plate appearance (.032 vs. .037) but hit sacrifice bunts or flies more than twice as often (.018 vs .007).
My ten year old Yankee fan kid just saw this and now went from baseball fanatic to never wanting to watch again. “What’s the point, if everyone is cheating? The whole season was a waste.”
Yep - that would be good. Have all-rounders play the game rather than specialists. I want to watch players play all aspects of the game - not just one particular skill. Learn to tackle, rush AND block. Learn to catch AND defend passes.
No one lets the big HR hitters take time off duing the innings when his team are in the field, despite the fact he’s a slow, lumbering log who couldn’t catch a bus.
Would you like to see a baseball team made up of 9 heavy hitters who bat, and 9 whizz kids in the field? Look - if they’re the rules, they’re the rules. It’s just not how I like to see a game played.
(Correct - I don’t like the DH, in case you’re wondering. Pitchers have 2 arms - they can swing a bat. And they did without any serious issues for nearly 100 years in pro ball.)
Well, it’s legal to run the bases but not ride a bicycle. It’s legal to use a glove but not a 20-foot-long pole with a net on it. It’s legal to pitch the ball really hard but not use the spitball. Certain methods are always illegal, in all sports.
The reason it’s legal to steal signs with your eyeballs is that it makes perfect sense to have players on the field be allowed to use their eyes and ears to ascertain what the opposing players intend to do. If the third base coach yells “Bunt! Bunt!” you wouldn’t ask the opposing players to pretend they didn’t hear that; well, if they give a sign the opposition knows means “bunt,” why should they pretend they didn’t see that?
Allowing the use of mechanical devices off the field of play removes that from the hands of the players and coaches and from their physical limitations.
Along with the fact that players are far bigger and faster, resulting in a much more punishing game. I doubt it’s possible for players (at their current size) to have the stamina needed.
