Boston Red Sox used Apple Watch to steal pitching signs in games against Yankees

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 30
    Sour grapes by the New York Yankees. 
  • Reply 22 of 30
    ph382 said:
    I disagree.  Some players are worshipped by young fans and aspiring athletes.  Condoning the use of performance enhancing substances might lead to mimicry.  Youth sports should teach lots of lessons besides "Win at all costs!"
    Isn't it more like...

    Hit them hard. There's a full Football (sic) scolarship for you residing on this one play.
  • Reply 23 of 30
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member

    anome said:

    So "sign stealing" is legal, but using technology to signal the batsman isn't?

    You USAians and your weird games.

    Give me a break.  Most sports have rules against using technology in an unusual or unsportsmanlike manner.  For example, here's a quote of FIFA's Laws of the Game:  
    "The use of radio communication systems between players and/or technical staff is not permitted."   So, yelling from the sidelines  is allowed but signaling with technology isn't?  Exactly.
    OTOH, in US football, 'radio communication' allowed. Also, the use of instant replays to judge questionable calls is now common in basketball, baseball, and US football. It's all a matter of degree, so one can't really make broad generalizations. 

    I think that that fighting technology in sports is futile. And a bit Luddite. 
    Depends on the sport. In US football (NFL, NCAA football), there is limited acceptable use of headsets to communicate with certain authorized individuals (e.g., your quarterback on the field or a member of the coaching staff in a certain coaching suite).

    Instant replay is a whole different matter. The calls can't be overturned by individual teams, they can only be questioned for further review by the officiating staff. For many professional USA sports, yes, that means that there's a group of individuals who are monitoring various video feeds and can alert the on-field coaching team to contest a call. However, the officiating crew only uses sanctioned video evidence, not random sources.

    In this specific case, the question is really what video source are the Red Sox using? If they have someone in the center field stands with a telephoto lens who is iMessaging a Sox coach, well, yeah, that might be stepping over the line.

    The main takeaway from this incident is that the Red Sox started communicating to the coaching staff during a game using a wearable connected device. MLB has banned cellphones, radios, and walkie-talkies from the dugout. If some outsider wants to send a message to the coaching staff during a game, there are only a handful of approved individuals (teammates, other coaching staff, club room attendants, etc.). It takes time to relay the message and in this particular case, quick delivery of the information is vital.


  • Reply 24 of 30
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    anome said:

    So "sign stealing" is legal, but using technology to signal the batsman isn't?

    You USAians and your weird games.

    Yeah, it's definitely not cricket. 
    I'll say. Baseball is over in an afternoon. What are you supposed to do for the rest of the week?

    (With very few apologies to W. G. Grace.)
    ronntallest skil
  • Reply 25 of 30
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    The teams are allowed to use instant replay to discover signs. That's already pretty high tech. 

    Seems a lot about nothing. But, great advertising for Apple. 
  • Reply 26 of 30
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Oh no, not this again, with Boston.
    I think you are inflating the issue ...  
  • Reply 27 of 30
    There is absolutely no way this works reliably enough to be the true story.

    iPhones are banned. So Apple Watch, if it has connectivity at all, is going to struggle to deliver/receive messages. Plus, who are you relaying signs too? The batter can't stop and look at his Apple Watch. And you've got maybe 5 seconds from the time the sign is given to when the pitch is delivered.

    Plus, this all hinges around a "rule" that technology can't be used to steal signs. Even though it is perfectly fine for a runner at second base to look at the signs and flash them to the batter.
  • Reply 28 of 30
    MacPro said:
    Oh no, not this again, with Boston.
    I think you are inflating the issue ...  
    Actually, the inflation thing was completely bogus. That was well-established. Utter fake news, fake penalties.

    I was referring to an earlier episode with the Patriots where they had an issue similar to sign-stealing.

    (Nice pun, though!)
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 29 of 30
    Wow. Just wait until the watch has LTE.
  • Reply 30 of 30
    jbdragon said:
    anome said:

    So "sign stealing" is legal, but using technology to signal the batsman isn't?

    You USAians and your weird games.

    I think it should be allowed. Then the Pitcher and catcher can get headsets and someone can tell them what to throw. Then there's no signals to see to cheap. See how it all works out in the end.
    True. They could use Ear Pods and an Apple Watch. It would look cool, too. 
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