Brett Gardner: Use of electronics takes sign stealing ‘too far’
Stealing signs has been part of baseball for decades, but Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner thinks using electronics to gain an advantage is too much.
News broke on Tuesday that the Yankees accused the Red Sox of sign stealing by using electronics, specifically an Apple Watch. Boston manager John Farrell denied knowing what was taking place with regards to the electronic device. However, he did know Red Sox players were trying to steal signs.
Gardner has been around Major League Baseball long enough to know sign stealing is part of the game. On the other hand, he did acknowledge using electronics is takings things “too far.”
"It's always been a game within a game, but the use of electronics takes it too far." – Brett Gardner, on Red Sox alleged sign stealing
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 5, 2017
The Red Sox have filed a complaint with MLB alleging the Yankees of using a television camera to accomplish the same purpose, which Joe Girardi firmly denied.
While there is no rule against stealing signs in the MLB rule book, both Farrell and Gardner seem to echo the sentiment that it’s “okay” if done the way it has been traditionally done throughout the years. The Red Sox apparently taking it to another level will likely add to what is already one of the better rivalries in American sports.
