Breaking Down the Details Surrounding the Red Sox Sign Stealing Scandal

MLB has issued penalties to the Boston Red Sox for sign-stealing during the 2018 season, the same season in which the Red Sox won the World Series.

Transcript

00:00 Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has concluded an investigation that began in January

00:05 finding that Boston used its video replay monitor to decode opponent signs during the 2018 regular

00:12 seasons. Joining me now to discuss this further is SI senior writer Tom Berducci. Tom, first of all,

00:17 ultimately the league suspended a video staffer at the center of the sign stealing scandal and

00:22 got to the Red Sox a second round draft pick. Did Boston get off easy on this one?

00:28 Well, I guess if you compare them to the Houston Astros you would say yes, but this is a whole

00:33 different level, not nearly to the extent that the Houston Astros misused their video electronic

00:39 equipment. The Red Sox situation here was, as you mentioned, a video replay operator who was

00:45 the advanced scout and he would break down sign sequencing before the game, perfectly legal, but

00:50 during the game he was their replay operator so he had access to the camera feed from center field in

00:55 real time and if the sign sequence differed he was able to figure that out and eventually pass

01:01 that on to the player so when the runner got to second base the Red Sox knew the sequence of signs

01:05 the runner on second could relay to the batter. Now also unlike the Houston Astros this was just

01:12 this activity the violations were limited to the regular season in 2018. There is no evidence the

01:17 commissioner found that there was violations in the postseason. Of course the Red Sox won the 2018

01:23 World Series. Astros again a lot different, a more complex system involving more people and it did go

01:29 into the postseason in 2017. Now you mentioned the Astros, former Red Sox manager Alex Cora also

01:36 received a suspension for the 2020 season but not for his role in Boston, rather his role as a former

01:42 Astros bench coach. So does this essentially close the book on the Houston investigation?

01:46 It does. This was the last thread that was still hanging, how to discipline Alex Cora.

01:52 There was some thought that maybe the Red Sox investigation would add to the penalty he faced.

01:56 Commissioner Manfred found that he had exoneration as far as the Red Sox activities went but

02:04 according to Manfred he was an active participant in the Houston sign stealing scheme, much more

02:10 active than the manager A.J. Hinch. So the surprise to me is that Cora essentially gets the same

02:17 penalty as the manager, essentially a year away from the game able to return after the 2020

02:23 postseason. Cora, very active participant. Hinch, not an active participant but he didn't step in

02:29 and stop it when he should have. So according to MLB, Hinch is held to a higher standard because

02:35 he had the more senior position as a manager as opposed to Cora being the bench coach.

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