The Houston Astros have essentially been caught redhanded stealing signs during their World Series season in 2017, and a documentary from their championship year appears to have given us a first-hand look at the setup they allegedly used to steal and communicate signs.
A bombshell report from The Athletic last week detailed how the Astros had a camera in the outfield focused on the opposing team’s catcher at Minute Maid Park. The footage was fed to a monitor in a hallway between the home dugout and clubhouse. A player or staffer would watch the monitor to see which pitch the opposing catcher was calling for and then loudly bang a trash can to let the hitter know if an off-speed pitch was coming. The setup sounds quite sophisticated, but it looks a lot simpler when you see it.
This is believed to be the sign-stealing setup, which was briefly shown in a 2017 World Series documentary on the Astros.
Here is the set-up in question from the World Series Documentary. Cable, chair, laptop, trash can. pic.twitter.com/84uGGsu15N
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) November 17, 2019
What you can see in that video is a table, chair, large trash can, some sort of cable, and a bunch of sunflower seeds scattered on the floor. The seeds could indicate someone was sitting at the table for a lengthy period of time. But where is the TV monitor? It looks like it was moved after the game, which would make sense.
Just absurd pic.twitter.com/ZnU8iXjaQc
— The Yankee Report (@YankeeReport_) November 17, 2019
If you picture that setup when watching some of the compelling videos that have surfaced over the past week, it’s fair to assume that is a glimpse into how the Astros were cheating. There has even been reason to believe the Astros changed the position of their TV cameras in 2017 to get a better view of the catcher’s signs.
The more that comes out, the weaker Houston’s defense is going to be. It is only a matter of time before Major League Baseball takes disciplinary action against the organization.
