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Sign stealing
In baseball, sign stealing is the act of observing the signs being signaled by the opposing catcher to the pitcher or a coach, and the subsequent relaying of those signals to members of one's own team. Signs are stolen with the intent of gaining advance knowledge of the upcoming pitch and communicating it to the batter, thereby giving them an advantage. Legal sign stealing typically involves the signs being observed by a runner on second base and then relayed to the batter through some sort of gesture. Illegal sign stealing involves mechanical or electronic technology; the rules regarding this have become more stringent over time and continue to evolve.
Sign stealing has been in practice almost since the game's origin in the 19th century, and has continued to be used in recent times.
According to the unwritten rules of baseball, stealing the signs that are given by the third base coach, or those of the catcher by a baserunner on second base, is acceptable, and it is up to the team giving the signs to protect them so they are not stolen. Even so, pitchers may retaliate when they believe their signs are being stolen with a brushback pitch. On the other hand, a batter peeking in to see the catcher's signs is not tolerated. Signs from catcher to pitcher are considered more "sacred" than signs from a third base coach to a batter.
Stealing signs is not necessarily a violation of Major League Baseball's (MLB) rulebook; it depends how the signs are stolen. At the December 1961 Winter Meetings, the National League banned the use of a "mechanical device" to steal signs. The use of electronic equipment is not specifically forbidden by MLB rules, but in 2001, Sandy Alderson, while serving as executive vice president for baseball operations of MLB, issued a memorandum stating that teams cannot use electronic equipment to communicate with each other during games, especially for the purpose of stealing signs. Before the 2019 season, in an effort to reduce illegal sign stealing, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred instituted specific prohibitions on where teams could position cameras and how instant replay officials can communicate with managers.
The oldest recorded instance of a team attempting to steal signs dates back to 1876, when the Hartford Dark Blues hid a person in a shack to tip off their hitters when the pitcher would throw a curveball. In 1897, George Stallings, the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, instructed backup catcher Morgan Murphy to hide in a clubhouse beyond center field with binoculars and a telegraph in order to alert Stallings to what pitch the opposing catcher was calling. In 1900, Murphy was again used to steal signs, relaying them to Phillies base coach Pearce Chiles, who stood on a buried box containing a wired buzzer. Murphy relayed coded messages to Chiles in the form of electrical buzzes about what pitch was coming, which Chiles communicated to batters by stomping on the ground. Murphy sent one buzz for a fastball, two buzzes for a curveball, and three buzzes for a changeup. During a game on September 17, 1900, the Cincinnati Reds discovered the buried electrical box used by Chiles. No action was taken against anyone involved in these early sign stealing incidents.
In the 1903 baseball anthology How to Play Base Ball, compiled by Boston sportswriter Tim Murnane, catcher Malachi Kittridge of the Boston Beaneaters wrote: "I give my signs to the pitcher while in a squatting position to prevent the other side from calling the turn."
Three members of the 1951 New York Giants admitted to stealing signs by using a telescope to win the National League pennant that season—the admission came 50 years later, in 2001. The Giants rallied from 13+1⁄2 games behind in the final 10 weeks of the season to win the pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers using this technique. Bobby Thomson, who hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World", denied being tipped off to that pitch.
On May 26, 1959, despite the Milwaukee Braves' bullpen stealing catcher Smokey Burgess's signs, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix threw 12 perfect innings before losing the game in the 13th. The only Braves player not to accept the signs was Hank Aaron.
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Sign stealing
In baseball, sign stealing is the act of observing the signs being signaled by the opposing catcher to the pitcher or a coach, and the subsequent relaying of those signals to members of one's own team. Signs are stolen with the intent of gaining advance knowledge of the upcoming pitch and communicating it to the batter, thereby giving them an advantage. Legal sign stealing typically involves the signs being observed by a runner on second base and then relayed to the batter through some sort of gesture. Illegal sign stealing involves mechanical or electronic technology; the rules regarding this have become more stringent over time and continue to evolve.
Sign stealing has been in practice almost since the game's origin in the 19th century, and has continued to be used in recent times.
According to the unwritten rules of baseball, stealing the signs that are given by the third base coach, or those of the catcher by a baserunner on second base, is acceptable, and it is up to the team giving the signs to protect them so they are not stolen. Even so, pitchers may retaliate when they believe their signs are being stolen with a brushback pitch. On the other hand, a batter peeking in to see the catcher's signs is not tolerated. Signs from catcher to pitcher are considered more "sacred" than signs from a third base coach to a batter.
Stealing signs is not necessarily a violation of Major League Baseball's (MLB) rulebook; it depends how the signs are stolen. At the December 1961 Winter Meetings, the National League banned the use of a "mechanical device" to steal signs. The use of electronic equipment is not specifically forbidden by MLB rules, but in 2001, Sandy Alderson, while serving as executive vice president for baseball operations of MLB, issued a memorandum stating that teams cannot use electronic equipment to communicate with each other during games, especially for the purpose of stealing signs. Before the 2019 season, in an effort to reduce illegal sign stealing, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred instituted specific prohibitions on where teams could position cameras and how instant replay officials can communicate with managers.
The oldest recorded instance of a team attempting to steal signs dates back to 1876, when the Hartford Dark Blues hid a person in a shack to tip off their hitters when the pitcher would throw a curveball. In 1897, George Stallings, the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, instructed backup catcher Morgan Murphy to hide in a clubhouse beyond center field with binoculars and a telegraph in order to alert Stallings to what pitch the opposing catcher was calling. In 1900, Murphy was again used to steal signs, relaying them to Phillies base coach Pearce Chiles, who stood on a buried box containing a wired buzzer. Murphy relayed coded messages to Chiles in the form of electrical buzzes about what pitch was coming, which Chiles communicated to batters by stomping on the ground. Murphy sent one buzz for a fastball, two buzzes for a curveball, and three buzzes for a changeup. During a game on September 17, 1900, the Cincinnati Reds discovered the buried electrical box used by Chiles. No action was taken against anyone involved in these early sign stealing incidents.
In the 1903 baseball anthology How to Play Base Ball, compiled by Boston sportswriter Tim Murnane, catcher Malachi Kittridge of the Boston Beaneaters wrote: "I give my signs to the pitcher while in a squatting position to prevent the other side from calling the turn."
Three members of the 1951 New York Giants admitted to stealing signs by using a telescope to win the National League pennant that season—the admission came 50 years later, in 2001. The Giants rallied from 13+1⁄2 games behind in the final 10 weeks of the season to win the pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers using this technique. Bobby Thomson, who hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World", denied being tipped off to that pitch.
On May 26, 1959, despite the Milwaukee Braves' bullpen stealing catcher Smokey Burgess's signs, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix threw 12 perfect innings before losing the game in the 13th. The only Braves player not to accept the signs was Hank Aaron.
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