The Boston Red Sox were caught stealing signs against the New York Yankees in a recent series, and they have apparently made their rivals extremely paranoid — perhaps laughably so — with their shady antics.
After the Yankees went to Major League Baseball with evidence that Boston had been stealing signs using an Apple Watch (a violation that the Red Sox are said to have admitted to), they reportedly believed their division foes were still up to no good. According to Evan Drellich of CSSNE.com, the Yankees complained to MLB again on Friday when their television cameras spotted Red Sox pitcher Doug Fister with an unusual object on his right ear.
Sources: Yankees complained to MLB when they thought Doug Fister had audio device. His mouthguard was around his ear https://t.co/gzrX9L58Pd pic.twitter.com/HFgimj7JWJ
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 6, 2017
Upon further examination, it was determined that Fister was simply using his ear as a holster for his mouthguard.
While you can’t blame the Yankees for being suspicious, you would think they could have zoomed in on Fister’s ear and seen that his mouthguard clearly wasn’t a listening device before they filed a complaint with the league. As Drellich notes, that is one of the reasons the Red Sox feel like the Yankees are going out of their way to harass them.
Some people are calling for Boston to vacate its wins against New York this season, while others believe the biggest crime the Red Sox committed was being so sloppy in trying to do something every team does. It’s no surprise that at least one Yankees player feels the Apple Watch antics were out of line, but don’t expect MLB to drop the hammer over it.
