Just knowing if it’s going to be some breaking ball, or a fastball is an ENORMOUS advantage. And YES it could mean the difference of making the playoffs, or even winning a World Series.
It’s filthy.
Stealing Catchers signs has been forbidden forever.
This mess occurred under Manfred’s watch. He has to go.
Even if a runner on second base who can see the catcher’s sign signals to the batter?
I think the issue is that a team uses technology that the other team doesn’t have at their disposal.
Whereas, both teams have equal ability to steal signs by not using electronic technology.
Look at those play cards they use in football. Both teams can see those signs. It’s just a matter of the other team possessing the knowledge to interpret those signs. But if they’ve analyzed game film and have “cracked the code”, that’s on the other team for making it “crackable”. But they aren’t employing any technology that isn’t equally available to the other team.
And the bottom line is MLB has warned teams explicitly for years about doing this very thing.