Report: Red Sox Fined for Using Apple Watches to Steal Yankees' Signs, Money to be Sent to Hurricane Relief
The Red Sox have been fined an undisclosed amount for using Apple Watches to steal signs, and the money will be sent to aid hurricane relief, reports the New York Post's Joel Sherman.
The MLB decided to go relatively light with its punishment because the activity happened without the front office's knowledge, and the team immediately stopped using the technology after the Yankees submitted their report.
That report was submitted to Major League Baseball on Sept. 5 after the team suspected the Red Sox of using technology to communicate the Yankee's pitch signs during a series at Fenway Park. Shortly thereafter, MLB investigators confirmed the Yankee's suspicions by viewing their own footage, and the Red Sox admitted to having trainers use electronic devices to communicate signs to players.
Boston’s process for stealing signs and relaying them to players went as follows: Staffers charged with watching instant replay video would pass the signs electronically to trainers, who would then communicate with Red Sox players in the dugout. In one instance, Dustin Pedroia, who was on the disabled list at the time, is seen receiving information from a trainer and passing it to outfielder Chris Young.
The Yankees' accusations stem from the series at Fenway Park, but the MLB's investigation discovered that Red Sox had used similar tactics in other series.
The Red Sox responded by accusing New York of using a television camera exclusively to steal signs during games, according to a New York Times report, but the Yankees were not punished.
The Red Sox lead the Yankees by three games in the AL East with with 16 games to go for both teams. New York leads the Wild Card race by three games over the Twins.
Sign stealing is nothing new in Major League Baseball, but there are rules in place that prevent teams from using technology to facilitate the practice. The Apple Watch does not display video but can receive text messages and images. Royals manager Ned Yost caused a minor stir in 2015 when he wore one of the watches in the dugout but was not reprimanded for doing so.
Technology has become a mainstay in major league dugouts—since last season, every team has an iPad Pro in the dugout that stores information that used to be aggregated in binders of paper.
