If the pitcher isn't one of those slow, drag out the game pitchers, this should be no problem.
Stealing Signals Using Binocs from the BP:
1. Get Signal from Catcher
2. Pick up phone, ring dugout. Wait.
3. Manager picks up phone, guy in BP relays pitch to manager.
4. Manager relays signal to 3rd Base Coach
5. 3rd Base Coach sends signal to batter.
6. All the while hope that the catcher doesn't change signals/no one notices that your guy in the BP using Binocs and Manager in the dugout are constantly on the phone with each other when your team is at bat.
I'd believe this accusation if say they were accusing Davey Lopes (1st Base Coach), Sam Perlozzo (3rd Base Coach), or a Philly on 2nd base.
Yup, that all sounds doable in the course of the 3-5 seconds from the time the catcher gives the signal to the time that the pitcher delivers the pitch. Amazing how simple all of this is.
It doesn't have to be every pitch. Watch the signs, see what the catcher drops and what pitch comes. That saves the runners on base/base coaches a lot of work in terms of stealing the signs and relaying the information.
I'm not saying I have a problem with it, because I don't, I'm just saying that it happens.
The most laughable accusation was the Mets a couple of years ago saying the Phillies had a secret camera in the stadium. Hey dumbasses: every stadium in MLB has a giant HD camera in centerfield looking right over the pitchers shoulder. And guess what: anyone with a television can steal the signals. And yes, every clubhouse has a TV in it. It's a simple matter of walking 20 steps and going out and telling the dugout what the signals are and then every guy that gets on second base can tip the batter. It happens in every game played, unless a team is somehow too stupid to do it. The only differences are the subtlety in how the guy on second base tips it. As evidenced on Youtube, Joe Mauer was not very savvy disguising his signals. The better players will do things like lean slightly right or left, look a certain direction, or take a particular stutter step to tip the pitch.
Now, the one accusation I've heard that would be cheating is if a team used an indicator somewhere in the stadium to tip pitches, even when a man is not on second. This could be done very easily. If you look at right field at CBP, there's a scoreboard with thousands of lights taking up the entire right field wall. It would be very simple for the Phils to rig a system where a certain light could be turned on or off to signal a certain pitch. It would be very hard to detect with thousands of bulbs out there. Another method would be to have a team employee in civilian gear somewhere in the stadium giving signs. Hell, they could even put a small speaker inside the helmet padding if they really wanted to be devious.
GannonFan wrote:
Yup, that all sounds doable in the course of the 3-5 seconds from the time the catcher gives the signal to the time that the pitcher delivers the pitch. Amazing how simple all of this is.
It doesn't have to be every pitch. Watch the signs, see what the catcher drops and what pitch comes. That saves the runners on base/base coaches a lot of work in terms of stealing the signs and relaying the information.
I'm not saying I have a problem with it, because I don't, I'm just saying that it happens.
But why go through all that trouble and potential exposure when all you have to do, like 93 has said, is just watch the game on TV - the picture is 1000x better and you can pause and rewind at will. Heck, all they need is an MLB account and they can watch the game on the web right in the tunnel going back to the clubhouse, assuming they don't want to take 30 seconds to walk back to the clubhouse to watch the game on TV.
Sign stealing of pitches is one of the most frequently done, but way, way overvalued aspects of baseball. People always steal signs and they always will. And frankly, it's not all that difficult to have a system of signs that prevents stealing - if someone is stealing your signs, it's an indication that your system of signs pretty much sucks.
GannonFan wrote:And frankly, it's not all that difficult to have a system of signs that prevents stealing - if someone is stealing your signs, it's an indication that your system of signs pretty much sucks.
Heard the Phils employed some of the Navajo Code Talkers to come up with their signs, the rest of the league can't break the code so they are pissed. Not to mention a vast majority of their players/pitchers wear the "Phiten," so that pretty much puts them in the Phils pocket from the get go.
