MLB teams have been stealing signs for more than 100 years, and the Boston Red Sox are the latest to get caught doing it. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi believes he has an idea that would put an end to it.
Girardi has said numerous times that he believes allowing pitchers and catchers to wear headsets like NFL quarterbacks and coaches do would solve the problem of sign stealing. He reiterated his stance on Tuesday after it was revealed that the Red Sox were caught stealing signs from the Yankees using an Apple Watch.
Joe Girardi said again that he'd like pitchers & catchers to wear headsets like quarterbacks. Would cut down on mound visits, sign stealing.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 5, 2017
During the offseason, Girardi brought up the headset idea when discussing the issues baseball is having with pace of play.
“I’m a big proponent of trying to introduce some type of communication through headphones. Like they do in the NFL,” he said in February, via Steve Gardner of USA Today Sports. “I think you could speed the game up that way in certain instances.
“You’d put earpieces in certain people. You could put it, realistically, in your hitters’ helmets and you could say what you wanted and then it’s not a sign from me, a sign to the third base coach and then a sign to the player.”
Something like that seems like it is a long way from actually happening, but the latest incident involving the Red Sox and Yankees could help put the wheels in motion. The more likely scenario is that MLB will remind teams of its policy banning unauthorized electronic devices in the dugout.
For what it’s worth, the Red Sox have also accused the Yankees of stealing signs with the help of their television network. Girardi gave a firm response to those allegations on Wednesday.
