Angels Were Upset Red Sox Were Stealing Signs - Legally

We now have solid reason to believe that the Red Sox were in fact sign stealing from the Angels in a series last week, beyond just allegations.

OutKick’s Alejandro Avilla reported that a pregame spat between the two teams Wednesday was over allegations that Jose Flores was tipping pitches to his hitter while Tyler Anderson was pitching.

Let's just say that Flores and Anderson were not getting each other’s addresses to send Christmas letters.

Interestingly enough, I was waiting my turn to get in Fenway Park for that game. Needless to say, my mom and I had the best view in the house.

Enough flexing; back to the sign-stealing.

Jomboy proceeded to do a breakdown of the situation, and he presented some pretty convincing evidence.

In Monday’s game, the Red Sox lit up Anderson for four runs in the fifth inning, chasing him from the game and preventing him from getting a win. During that inning, Flores was allegedly relaying fastball and offspeed pitches based on how he was standing on the first base line.

Right-handed hitters could read his signals in his peripheral vision, thus giving them an advantage. However, he didn’t use technology to aid him, he was simply looking at how the catcher was positioning himself and reacting accordingly.

Here’s the full breakdown.

Frankly, I am okay with this form of sign-stealing. As long as team aren’t using illegal technology and trash cans (I’m looking at you, 2017 Houston Astros), it should be allowed. 

Think about it: this happens all the time in other sports. In football, you can tell what play is coming by how certain players move. In hockey, you can guess what will happen based on personnel. In basketball, you can read plays based on how players set up their formation.

All of this, in essence, is getting an in-game advantage on your opponent, and sign-stealing is no different. Instead of decrying what Flores did, maybe the catcher should mind how he prepares to receive pitches.

Using information that’s wide out in the open like that without using technology to help you obtain it is within the spirit of the game.