Posted on 02/12/2020 6:35:42 PM PST by NRx
…The Astros’ system for using electronics to steal signs came into full public view Nov. 12, when former pitcher Mike Fiers exposed the machinations in a story published by the Athletic. The report prompted an MLB investigation that resulted in the suspension and firing of both Luhnow and Hinch. Paranoia about the Astros’ methods had gripped baseball, affecting the way other teams scouted and prepared to face Houston — in some cases crippling officials with worry.
According to people at all levels throughout the sport — players, clubhouse staff members, scouts and executives — the idea that the Astros employed nefarious methods was an open secret.
“The whole industry knows they’ve been cheating their a---- off for three or four years,” said an executive from a team that faced the Astros in the playoffs during that span. “Everybody knew it.”
...He estimated “10 to 12” teams had complained to MLB about the Astros over the years. An executive from another team agreed with that number.
While the logistics of the Astros’ scheme — a camera in center field, a video monitor near the dugout, banging on trash cans to signal pitches and what the Wall Street Journal reported was an operation called “Codebreaker” to decipher the catcher’s signs — remained unknown as it was happening, suspicions that games against the Astros were contested on an uneven playing field skyrocketed.
“It was a big open secret, really big,” said a veteran scout from another team whose coverage included the Astros. “Throughout baseball, throughout the scouting community, for several years, not just starting in 2017. I would say probably 2016, maybe earlier, through [2019], things were going on that were blatantly against the rules.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I really don’t care about that.
Cheating going on..in BB...forever.
This was elevated...trash can banging...Video, wires...
Gonna be a long time for this to fade...
Astros road record was a lot better than their home record in 2017, even though what they was doing was illegal didn’t seem to help much at home.
I don’t think of sign “stealing” as cheating. The signs are there in the open to be seen and interpreted.
Using data mining and other heuristic approaches is just dang clever is all.
Why do you think NFL coaches cover their mouths when calling in plays? Because lip reading goes back decades.
Exactly. Who gives a flying fig?
It’s all Shakespeare.
Let Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame.
“Exactly. Who gives a flying fig?”
Uhhhh the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers for a start. Of course the next year the Red Sox went all in with “if you can’t beat them join them” and hired Coach Alex Cora from Houston (the cheating ring leader) as their Manager and low and behold they cheated to a Championship as well.
Much ado about nothing.
Figuring out what the signs are has always been part of baseball.
But the game is too boring for the twenty first century, so we see a manufactured scandal to try make people with more interesting things to do pay attention.
It won’t work of course.
Even the scandal is boring.
Especially since MLB is developing a gaming app...
“Much ado about nothing.
Figuring out what the signs are has always been part of baseball”
Really?.... If the Pitcher or Catcher is tipping the pitch to the Batter, Base Coaches or opposing Teams Dugout is one thing. That in real time is difficult with the Catchers fingers buried in their crotch. The cheating Astro’s and Red Sox (2018) having there own Camera Crew in Center Field feeding the Catchers signal in real time back to the Dugout is just wrong. Broadcast TV feeds are delayed by about seven seconds so its a non starter for those looking for excuses.
Did you really just post that?
Knowing that people on this forum would read it.
How many hundreds or thousands of books written as long ago as the nineteen thirties have featured someone stealing signs with a pair of binoculars, talking into a microphone connected to a private phone or even a radio?
Where do you think that damned worn out literary cliche came from?
There is no new technique here, just more expensive equipment.
And for all your passionate ranting...baseball is still boring.
Have you ever watched soccer? Sometimes the fans riot out of sheer boredom.
To be honest, the only sports that hold my attention are sports that are more like dance, such as figure skating or gymnastics. Okay, maybe women’s beach volleyball.
Stealing signs has been going on since the beginning of baseball.
The rules should be changed to allow all teams to use any means they choose to steal signs; including cameras, monitors, and even ear pieces.
But until that happens, anyone caught breaking the rules should be penalized.
The Yankees have nothing to complain about. Their fans have been moaning all over sports radio about how the Astros screwed them in the 2017 ALCS, but it wasn’t Houston’s hitting that did the Yankees in. In the four games played in Houston the Yankees were shut out twice and scored a grand total of TWO runs. Stealing signs had nothing to do with that pathetic ineptitude at the plate.
Use the middle finger.
Monday it will mean this.
Tuesday it will mean that
etc.
Funny baseball movie.
Kill The Umpire 1950
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEoP_qVbTiA
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I have to vehemently disagree. I grew up playing baseball and football, and boxed. I have been as big a proponent of 'American' sports as most. I loved the Dream Team and the Miracle on Ice. As a kid I saw the 85 Bears demolition of the Patriots.
That said, soccer (i.e. Football) is a great sport, with incredible athleticism, and with pretty much non-stop action. Soccer has two 45 minute halves, with a 15 minute halftime in between. There are no time outs in soccer, and only three substitutions per side per game. Players routinely run >10 kilometers per game. There are few, if any truly fat professional soccer players. It gets a bad reputation because the scores are not generally very high.
A 2-1 soccer game can be as or more exciting than a 42 - 28 NFL game. That said, every sport can be amazing, if you understand it and take the time to appreciate amazing athleticism and skill.
https://youtu.be/HK1hqBtQ9QQ
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