As if the storied rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox wasn’t already the most epic in all of sports, then comes news of a technological twist.
An investigation has been launched after the Red Sox reportedly admitted to Major League Baseball that they illegally used technology to steal signs from the Yankees during their series from August 18-20 at Fenway Park.
How did the sign stealing scheme work?
The New York Times reports Bo-Sox personnel watched instant-replay video and then — using an Apple Watch — electronically sent pitch signals to team trainers in the dugout, who then passed the information to the players on the field.
One video shows assistant athletic trainer Jon Jochim looking at his Apple Watch and then relaying the information to Boston players Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt.
Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski and manager John Farrell deny knowing anything about it, which I find highly unlikely.
Boston, meantime, has also complained that the Yankees used a camera from its YES TV network to steal signs during games, which New York — naturally — refutes.
Sign stealing is nothing new. It is almost as old as the game of baseball itself.
Commissioner Rob Manfred and his crew are looking into it and I’m sure penalties will be assessed, but only drastic changes will remove sign stealing from the game.
Either pitchers and catchers do away with signs and the guy on the mound just hurls whatever pitch he wants. Or, perhaps, we take another step deeper into the abyss of technology and equip pitchers and catchers with earpieces so they can be connected to their skippers.
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