It’s one of baseball’s oldest, and often most misunderstood, traditions: stealing signs from the opposition.
Despite popular misconceptions, sign stealing in baseball is perfectly legal. If, say, a runner at second base is able to pick up signs from the catcher to the pitcher, he’s within his rights to relay them to the hitter. It’s up to the pitcher and catcher to come up with their own elaborate system to keep the other team guessing.
The Houston Astros in 2017 and into 2018 are the most obvious and prominent example of how sign stealing could be abused, particularly in the pre-pitchcom era. Should players or coaches pick up on signs and relay them on the field, there’s no issue. However, when teams employ video technology to relay signs in real time from the dugout, as the Astros did, that crosses into cheating. That distinction is precisely why the Astros’ 2017 World Series title carries the asterisk it does.
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Even though advancements in pitchcom have eliminated physical signs for some pitchers and catchers, sign stealing remains part of baseball. Whether through picking up on tipping or through decoding other physical movements. And that sign stealing tradition boiled over during a recent game between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cubs and Diamondbacks played a series this week in Phoenix, with tempers boiling over during the fifth inning of Chicago’s 7-0 win on Monday evening. The disagreement started when the Diamondbacks’ dugout came to believe that Cubs’ third base coach Quintin Berry was picking up on signs from pitcher Merrill Kelly, then relaying those signs from his position on the field.
A breakdown from popular baseball account Jomboy showed what seemingly happened.
“Stealing signs is as old as baseball,” Kelly said Monday night after the game. Though he added that he does not believe it’s acceptable coming from a coach. “I think it’s a little bulls— when it comes from a coach.”
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“If it’s a guy on second base, and they see a grip in your glove or if the hitters can see something you’re doing with your glove, I think that’s fair game. I think guys have been doing that since the beginning of baseball. I think it’s a little bush league when it comes from outside that. I think inside the lines is one thing. I think the guys that are standing outside the lines I think it’s a little bush league,” he said.
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This resulted in a shouting match between the two dugouts, with Arizona personnel seen yelling across the field. Manager Torey Lovullo, pitching coach Brian Kaplan, and bench coach Jeff Banister in particular used some flowery language to tell Berry to stop relaying signs.
Lovullo went so far as to reach out to Major League Baseball’s league office, asking for confirmation that Berry’s actions were against the rules. After Tuesday night’s game, however, he explained to the media that the league told him Berry and the Cubs hadn’t done anything wrong.
“It was a fantastic conversation,” Lovullo said. “The third base coach and the first base coach can do whatever they want, as long as they are inside the dimensions of the base coaching box, so I stand corrected. And I had a chance to call [Counsell], apologized to him, and told him that we were wrong, and they were doing everything right.”
It’s funny, because it seems like something that should be against the rules. As long as coaches don’t leave their boxes though, they’re within the rules. Lovullo, though, admitted that with the team fighting for a postseason spot, each game has become more “intense” than a typical regular season match up.
“It’s a very intense time of the year, and you know a lot goes on,” Lovullo said. “Two teams trying to protect their turf. I told him that I’d take care of our clubhouse, which I did.”
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Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he appreciated the gesture and conversation.
Said Counsell, “I think the world of Torey. I think he runs a great ship here. I think he’s done a heck of a job. So I enjoy every conversation I get to have with him. So yeah, he felt like he wanted to do it, and I appreciated it.”
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In a sense, all’s well that ends well, but it’s an interesting reminder that sign stealing, even as technology continues to improve, is a part of baseball. Some traditions never die.
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