Another bombshell report has accused a Major League Baseball team of using electronics to steal signs from opponents, and the league is planning to look into the allegations.
MLB issued a statement on Tuesday confirming that an investigation will begin after former members of the Boston Red Sox organization told the Athletic the team illegally used the video replay room to assist with stealing signs during the 2018 season.
MLB statement on Red Sox sign-stealing says the league will start an investigation. pic.twitter.com/ZQ52ii00XP
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) January 7, 2020
As MLB stated, the league issued a memo in September 2017 informing teams that future violations involving the use of electronic equipment to steal signs would be taken seriously. That memo was issued in part because the Red Sox were found to have used an Apple Watch to assist with sign stealing, so they could be viewed as repeat offenders.
The allegations against the Red Sox do not sound quite as troubling as everything that has come out about the Houston Astros, and the report from The Athletic states that other teams engaged in the same type of activity. The system reportedly involved using the video replay room, which was established after after MLB introduced replay review in 2014, to decode signals from opponents. A player would relay the information to the dugout, where it was passed to a baserunner and then secretly relayed to the hitter.
Many feel that is a lot less egregious and far more similar to “old school” sign stealing than the trash can banging system the Astros implemented, but the Red Sox could still face serious disciplinary action.
