MLB Charges Red Sox With Illegally Using Technology to Steal Signs from the Yankees

Major League Baseball has charged the Boston Red Sox with using an Apple Watch to steal signals from the New York Yankees.

The incident occurred during a three-game series played in August at Boston’s Fenway Park which saw the Sox taking two of the three games. Shortly after the series, Yankees GM Brian Cashman filed a complaint with MLB demanding an investigation into a possible case of signal theft when the Yankees observed a Boston trainer suspiciously glancing at his Apple Watch then relaying messages to players during the games, the New York Times reported.

An investigation alleged that Red Sox trainers had been receiving signals from video replay personnel and that info was, in turn, relayed to the players on the field. MLB determined that the Sox may have been utilizing the information for “several weeks.”

In response, the Sox filed a charge of their own, alleging that the Yankees use a Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) camera to steal signals. Boston also accused the Cleveland Indians of stealing signs during Game 1 of last year’s ALDS.

According to SportingCharts.com, sign stealing is not completely against MLB rules. While many feel that sign stealing is a breach of good sportsmanship, managers and coaches have been trying to decipher their opponents’ signals for decades. While there may be an unwritten rule that precludes signal stealing, there isn’t a strict prohibition.

However, there is a strict rule against using electronic means to record and steal signals. So, if Boston was using an Apple Watch to steal signals, that is a definite violation.

With the whole incident still unfolding, there is no indication how the league will proceed, here, or what sort of punishment might be meted out if the league officially determines that a violation occurred.

The most recent accusations of sign stealing were lodged against the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011, the New York Times reported. The team was never sanctioned for the incident.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.