2018 Red Sox cheating scandal

[notin]

It is also far sneakier, since there isn't a audio cue. They did it with RISP and figured out the sign sequence, which was conveyed to the batter by the runner on second who got a hand signal from the dugout. The sox led the league in RISP in 2018. With a runner on second, or second and third, the sox hit .280 and .339 respectively, 3rd and 2nd best in baseball.

 

So clearly a couple teams were cheating even more effectively...

[jacksonianmarch]

Listen, it is entirely legal for the runner on second to figure this out on his own and convey it to batters by a lean or hand gesture. That has been part of the game for a century. But getting the sign sequence spoon fed to you at second by digital means is expressly prohibited. The sox didn't do it as blatantly as the Astros did. It is pretty easy to hear the bangs on the garbage can prior to breaking balls on replay. This is damning evidence especially when you consider the players admitting it. Now, the evidence won't be as easily picked through. This will rely on testimony and confession, although Cora's involvement in Houston will be taken into consideration and the fact that the sox were warned in 2017 will be considered as well. The punishment for the sox should actually be worse than what the Astros get.

[jacksonianmarch]

So clearly a couple teams were cheating even more effectively...

 

Well, the leader in BA with runners on 2nd and 3rd was the Astros in 2018. Shocker. The Braves and Twins had better BA's (by 1 and 2 points) with runners on 2nd alone, but the sox out OPS'd them by 10+ points

[a700hitter]

PEDs were pretty rampant and weren't expressly illegal 96-00. The Sox were warned prior to 2018 and did it anyway

It contributed to the Yankee championship teams 1996-2000. Asterisks for them.

[notin]

I would be perfectly fine with Cora being fired.

 

Yeah that shiny new manager smell is rapidly turning into some cheating restgate stank..,

[jacksonianmarch]

It contributed to the Yankee championship teams 1996-2000. Asterisks for them.

 

If we are asterisking every team that had a PED cheater on the squad, make sure to asterisk every team from the mid 70s on. PEDs are individual. This cheating scandal is organizational. 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018*

[a700hitter]

If we are asterisking every team that had a PED cheater on the squad, make sure to asterisk every team from the mid 70s on. PEDs are individual. This cheating scandal is organizational. 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018*

This is trolling idiocy.

[Station 13]

the big-market red sox were just lucky they could afford expensive technology. Unlike mid-market franchises that have to rely on trashcans.

 

We need new penalties to tax the rich, and use the fines to buy laptops, tablets and iphones for all the poor clubs. Then all the teams would have access to the same resources.

 

lmao

[jacksonianmarch]

The Astros' excuse was that their replay room was far away from the dugout, so they couldn't cheat as easily as the other teams can. Hence, they needed a more elaborate plan like the desk, cpu and barrel banging.

 

In the end, nobody is asterisking anything, that was just playful banter. But Manfred is understandably not happy about this, especially with the MLB entering the gambling fray. While draft picks aren't being reported for the Astros, I would be absolutely shocked if none were taken from them. You want a deterrent, take away a first rounder. It is largely symbolic because the Astros were the best or second best team in baseball last year, so losing the 29th or 30th pick in the draft isn't terribly painful, but it would set a precedent for all teams to avoid this level of cheating.

[a700hitter]

The Astros' excuse was that their replay room was far away from the dugout, so they couldn't cheat as easily as the other teams can. Hence, they needed a more elaborate plan like the desk, cpu and barrel banging.

 

In the end, nobody is asterisking anything, that was just playful banter. But Manfred is understandably not happy about this, especially with the MLB entering the gambling fray. While draft picks aren't being reported for the Astros, I would be absolutely shocked if none were taken from them. You want a deterrent, take away a first rounder. It is largely symbolic because the Astros were the best or second best team in baseball last year, so losing the 29th or 30th pick in the draft isn't terribly painful, but it would set a precedent for all teams to avoid this level of cheating.

MLB has competing interests here. They need to mete out punishment harsh enough to deter this behavior while covering up the scandal.

[Station 13]

n 2017, the Yanks and Sox were fined for using electronic media. They were warned against further uses. I don't see the Yanks being implicated beyond 2017.

 

It was 2018 when the Astros confronted the Yankees with this. With it being in limelight, MLB is looking into the complaint.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Station 13

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Boston should just be thankful to hosts New York, Houston and LA for supplying the tactical tech necessary that allowed the Sox to win seven postseason games on the road in '18.

 

Imagine the combination of hospitality and cryptology the Yanks provided that let the visitors sneak 16 runs onto the scoreboard at the Stadium.

 

Trolls are clamoring for Red Sox suspensions, and I agree. Fenway should make room to suspend more of these:

 

https://cbslocal-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/anv-iupl/354/2C5/3542C546E22D4B70A6259038E3DBE48F.jpg

[Station 13]

That 2018 Sox team was probably the most dominant team of the decade, and maybe even of the 2000s. Unfortunately for them, that team will now have a shadow over it because people will wonder how much of that dominance was due to cheating. Especially when you consider that basically the same exact team was brought back for 2019 and had a terrible year without cheating (I know there were plenty of other factors as well).

 

The Yankees also cheated. They suck at cheating.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

"Especially when you consider that basically the same exact team was brought back for 2019 and had a terrible year without cheating"

 

Right -- they looked just like Barry Bonds, after his head shrunk back to normal.

[jacksonianmarch]

MLB has competing interests here. They need to mete out punishment harsh enough to deter this behavior while covering up the scandal.

 

Correct. They want this to be under the rug from the media perspective, but highlight the example being made as a deterrent. It is hard to do in this day and age

[S5Dewey]

Hmmm... I'm going to be seeing Cora in a Q & A session at the end of the month. This is shaping up to be quite the event!

[Elktonnick]

Hmmm... I'm going to be seeing Cora in a Q & A session at the end of the month. This is shaping up to be quite the event!

 

Cora is a self righteous hypocrite whose hand got caught in the cookie jar. I hope MLB does more than send him to his room.

[mvp 78]

Cora gets caught cheating: string him up!

 

Pedey gets caught cheating: his contract wasn’t an overpay!

 

You guys disgust me.

[Bellhorn04]

Cora is a self righteous hypocrite whose hand got caught in the cookie jar. I hope MLB does more than send him to his room.

 

What did he say that makes him a self righteous hypocrite?

[Bellhorn04]

Per ESPN's coverage:

 

The use of the video room for sign stealing, which one Red Sox source described to The Athletic as "cheating," was a practice only during the 2018 regular season, according to the report.

 

Multiple Red Sox sources told The Athletic that the system was impossible to use during the postseason because Major League Baseball had in-person monitors stationed in all video replay rooms during the playoffs.

 

Here's what's a little absurd about this:

 

MLB took extra measures to make sure there was no cheating in the postseason.

 

Sounds like they were pretty sure there was going to be cheating during the regular season, doesn't it?

[Slasher9]

Cora gets caught cheating: string him up!

 

Pedey gets caught cheating: his contract wasn’t an overpay!

 

You guys disgust me.

 

hahaha. BOOM

[Bellhorn04]

I'm reasonably sure that by the time the dust settles on all this we'll find out that a lot of teams were cheating this way.

[Carpin]

I'm reasonably sure that by the time the dust settles on all this we'll find out that a lot of teams were cheating this way.

 

I agree, this will be like PEDs again, we thought there were only a handful at the end it looks like most of the league was doing that

[Bellhorn04]

I agree, this will be like PEDs again, we thought there were only a handful at the end it looks like most of the league was doing that

 

And I think we'll hear one of the same justifications - assuming that everyone else is doing it, so you have to keep pace.

[Elktonnick]

I agree, this will be like PEDs again, we thought there were only a handful at the end it looks like most of the league was doing that

The claim or allegation that this type of electronic is widespread first of all is not being reported by anyone. It only serves to diminish the fact that Cora cheated. If true he should be fired regardless whether it was widespread or not. It was against the rules. He knew it. It is ust like Pete Rose. Unless the commissioner puts a stop to this kind of cheating it could destroy the integrity of the game just like gambling would.

[a700hitter]

Cora gets caught cheating: string him up!

 

Pedey gets caught cheating: his contract wasn’t an overpay!

 

You guys disgust me.

I am not getting how you are equating the two, and I don’t understand your outrage about it. LOL!

[TylerD]

We’re cheaters and proud of it!

[Tedballgame]

There's an * now for 2017 and 2018

If you think the Yankees weren't doing the same things you are in la la land.

[harmony]

If you think the Yankees weren't doing the same things you are in la la land.

Without evidence to support it, that's a pathetic response.

 

With evidence, it's OK.

 

IMHO

[Bellhorn04]

Good article about it:

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2020/01/07/red-sox-sign-stealing-allegations/Oc6PFgPthS0rJAiIHBjSuI/story.html