Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros and sign stealing is virtually certain to include interviews with three current managers — the Astros’ AJ Hinch, the Red Sox’s Alex Cora and the Mets’ Carlos Beltrán.
Hinch was the Astros’ manager in 2017, and sources said both Cora and Beltrán played a key role in devising the sign-stealing system the team used that season. The Astros stole signs electronically, according to pitcher Mike Fiers and three other sources inside the organization at the time, violating major league rules. The Athletic reported the news of the Astros’ rule-breaking on Tuesday.
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Cora was the team’s bench coach in ’17; Beltrán was a designated hitter and outfielder in the final season of a 20-year career that might result in his election to the Hall of Fame. Multiple sources said they were not the only members of the team who participated in the Astros’ scheme that season.
The Astros’ system involved a camera in center field and a television monitor that was placed on a wall steps from the team’s home dugout at Minute Maid Park. Team employees and players would sit opposite the screen, watch a realtime feed fixed on the opposing catcher’s signs and then — if they decoded the signs successfully — reveal the expected pitch to hitters by banging on a trash can.
Not every Astros hitter wanted the help. “There were guys who didn’t like it,” said Fiers, who was with the Astros from 2015 to ‘17.
Cora and Hinch declined to comment. Beltrán, in a text message, said the Astros did nothing wrong.
“We took a lot of pride studying pitchers in the computer – that is the only technology that I use and I understand,” Beltrán said. “It was fun seeing guys get to the ballpark to look for little details.
“(In) the game of baseball, guys for years have given location and if the catchers get lazy and the pitcher doesn’t cover the signs from second base, of course players are going to take advantage.
“I don’t call that cheating. I call that using the small details to take advantage. I think baseball is doing a great job adding new technology to make sure the game is even for both teams.”
Stealing signs is not cheating when players receive and convey information the old-fashioned way: using their eyes, ears and hands. MLB rules, however, prohibit the relaying of signs and information through electronic means, and baseball established more comprehensive measures in 2019 to clamp down on such behavior.
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The league’s Department of Investigation (DOI) will speak with current and former Astros employees, including players, sources said. To interview players, MLB first must notify the players’ union. Union officials routinely sit in on such interviews, acting as representatives for the players. The league has already begun reaching out to people connected to the 2017 Astros, sources said.
Before deciding on any potential penalties, baseball would need to determine if the Astros violated major league rules and whether the on-field personnel who stole signs acted with the knowledge and approval of the front office or operated on their own.
Commissioner Rob Manfred would determine any discipline for the Astros as a team as well as any individuals based upon the DOI’s findings. Manfred fined the Red Sox an undisclosed amount in 2017 after the league found the team had stolen signs through instant-replay monitoring and the use of Apple watches.
In his statement at the time, Manfred said, “future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”
On a separate front, the league and clubs discussed possible ways to prevent sign stealing in the future at the general managers meetings this week in Arizona. One possibility, a source said, is that new technology could be introduced as soon as the 2020 season somewhere in the minor leagues.
Additional rule changes addressing sign stealing at the major league level are expected in 2020 as well, as the league attempts to keep pace with the issue.
(Top photo of Hinch and Cora: Alex Trautwig / MLB via Getty Images)