The Toronto Blue Jays think the Los Angeles Dodgers were relaying signs during Game 4 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays won Game 4, 6-2, to tie the series at two. Toronto then won Game 5 a day later, 6-1, to go up 3-2 in the series. Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters on Thursday that he thought the Dodgers were relaying signs in Game 4 on Tuesday.
“I mean it’s fair game. And we highly suspected that there was relaying, you know, which is fine. But just didn’t want to have the hitter know what was coming,” Schneider said.
Btw, Blue Jays thought Dodgers were relaying signs in G4. That's why Louis Varland kept stepping off. John Schneider:
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) October 30, 2025
"I mean it's fair game. And we highly suspected that there was relaying, you know, which is fine. But just didn't want to have the hitter know what was coming"
Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland kept stepping off the rubber during his appearance and even intentionally balked to move Max Muncy from second to third base. That change kept Muncy from being able to see Varland’s grip on the ball, making it much tougher for the Dodgers player to signal to his teammate at the plate what pitch was coming.
That strategy is not exactly uncommon. Angels reliever Kenley Jansen did the same thing while facing the Dodgers during a game in May.
Varland did exactly what Kenley Jansen would’ve done in that scenario, committing an intentional balk to prevent sign stealing #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/p8XZAXbv5h
— David Rouben (@david_rouben) October 29, 2025
There is nothing illegal about what the Dodgers were doing. It would be illegal if they were using illegal technology to decipher or relay the signs. But just having a player pick up on what the opponent is doing using their eyes is completely within bounds.
