MLB Letter Confirms Yankees Are Punished For Sign Theft In 2015

Sign stealing has long been a part of baseball strategy. When a shot hits, teammates carefully watch a catcher’s fingers or body language to figure out which shot to take. It’s fair game as long as teams don’t use any electronic device, such as a camera or computer, to facilitate the process.

In past seasons—according to a newly published, partially corrected letter from Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman in 2017—the Yankees have used electronic devices to decode and share opposing teams’ marks. The letter came after the Yankees accused the Boston Red Sox of using a similar process.

Manfred wrote to Cashman: “The use of the Yankees’ bunker phone to relay information about the signs of an opposing Club during the 2015 season and part of the 2016 season constitutes a substantive violation of the Review Regulations.”

“By using the phone in the video review room to instantly transmit information regarding the markings against regulations, the Yankees were able to provide their players with real-time information regarding an opposing Club’s signal sequence – the same purpose the Red Sox’s plan is the subject of the Yankees complaint.”

The reason the Yankees were punished less severely (a $100,000 fine set aside for a charitable cause). Houston Astros and Boston Red SoxFines, fines, forfeiture, and public disdain? These teams continued their cue-stealing methods after the MLB began to crack him down and set up clear penalty terms.

The content of MLB’s letter to the Yankees, which was made public before the anticipated unsealing in court on Tuesday, wasn’t exactly new or surprising. Throughout baseball history, there has been paranoia about opponents stealing marks between pitchers and catchers, but the flow of technology in the game has brought new fears.

New ways to circumvent the rules emerged in 2014 when MLB expanded the use of instant replay, which created rooms with live video feeds near each team’s bunker to help coaches decide whether to contest a game. Players were also allowed to visit these rooms to view their videos during the game. shot or hit. However, the use of any technology to decode or transmit opponents’ signals during a game was still prohibited.

The first major public sign of tech misuse came in 2017, according to The New York Times, although there has been growing concern among many teams that their rivals have gone too far. Yankees file complaint with MLB Accusing the Red Sox of transmitting signals from video replay staff to the bunker via an Apple Watch. Following the Red Sox’s investigation that led to fines, MLB admitted it was becoming increasingly difficult to track inappropriate use of electronics.

“At the time, signal stealing was used as a competitive tool by numerous teams throughout Major League Baseball and only became illegal after the Commissioner specifically defined the rules on September 15, 2017,” the Yankees said in a statement Tuesday. He later added that they had “no violations or violations” since then.

That day, Manfred sent a memorandum to all 30 teams, warning them of illegal sign stealing and stating that such cheating would be held responsible for the club management, not the players. In March 2018, MLB sent out another memorandum to teams that clearly stated that they were not allowed to use their replay rooms and video feeds to steal signals during the game.

(MLB has since next steps to try to prevent such behavior.)

But this is where the Yankees’ story diverges from that of the Astros and Red Sox.

Astros found, according to An MLB investigation published in January 2020Having implemented a plan throughout the 2017 playoffs, and for at least part of the 2018 season, it involved using cameras and monitors to work out opposing teams’ signals and hit Houston’s shots, usually in a bin just outside the bunker.

Manfred punished the Astros with one-year suspensions and fines of $5 million and first- and second-round picks to General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager AJ Hinch, both of whom were later fired by owner Jim Crane. Choose in 2020 and 2021.

According to a separate MLB investigation released in April 2020, it was found that the Red Sox used a more limited scope than the Astros in 2018, but still used a scheme that involved decoding opponents’ signs while watching live video and passing it during games. information for players.

Manfred penalized the Red Sox by giving one-year suspensions to Manager Alex Cora and Boston’s video replay operator JT Watkins, who were also part of the 2017 Astros plan. The team also lost the runoff selection in 2020.

The private letter that Manfred once wrote to the Yankees is now out because of a court case dismissed by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in April 2020 among fantasy sports competitors who claimed they had been harmed by sign theft in MLB fans suing the MLB. The Astros and Red Sox have claimed that Manfred’s 2017 letter to Cashman, which surfaced during the expedition, contradicted the league’s public statements at the time.

The Yankees tried to keep the letter sealed, arguing that they were not parties to the lawsuit and would damage their reputation. Multiple judges disagreed, arguing that most of the letter had already been disclosed by MLB in its 2017 release. Second U.S. Court of Appeals last week denied a request By the Yankees, rehearsing the team’s case to keep the letter sealed.

Manfred’s three-page letter to Cashman explained how MLB found the Red Sox to be violating league rules. Manfred wrote that during the Red Sox investigation, he told the league (by an identified individual or group) that the Yankees “used a scheme similar to that of the Red Sox” to decode and transmit opposing teams’ signals. for batter when a runner is in the second stage.

Manfred also wrote that a redacted person or group who noticed the Red Sox was using the Apple Watch told the league that they had briefed the players and coaches at Yankee Stadium about the signs of the opponents during the 2015 season and part of the 2016 season. room again, and they forwarded it to the bunker.

Finally, Manfred wrote that his office did not merit a formal complaint accusing the Yankees of the Red Sox of pointing YES Network cameras at Boston’s bunker when coaches and players signaled.

In their statement Tuesday, MLB and the Yankees noted that much of the letter’s content has been known for some time.

“The Yankees did not violate MLB’s rules governing sign theft,” MLB said. “At the time, the use of the replay room to decode signs was not expressly prohibited by MLB rules unless the information was transmitted electronically to the bunker. As rules regarding the use of replays have evolved, many clubs have moved their video equipment closer to the pitch, giving staff the potential to quickly transmit signals onto the pitch.”

MLB said it clarified its rules regarding electronic equipment in the Manfred memorandum of September 15, 2017, and drew a “clear line” on March 27, 2018 that no clubhouse or video room equipment could be used to decode signs.

“The Yankees fought vigorously to produce this letter, not only for relevant legal principle, but also to prevent events that occurred prior to the creation of the Commissioner’s sign theft rules from being falsely equated with those that occurred later,” the Yankees said. . “What needs to be made clear vividly is this: the fine specified in Major League Baseball’s letter was implemented before the new regulations and standards of MLB were published.”