It started as whispers around the league, but they were just that, whispers. It was a rumor, something talked about around the league, that the Houston Astros had worked out a way to steal opposing teams’ signs.
The whispers got louder, however. Then online sleuths started digging and seemed to find a lot of evidence pointing toward the fact that the Astros had been systematically stealing signs and alerting batters what pitches were coming.
Still, even then, it was just a bit of evidence. Then, last week, The Athletic reported on a camera system, installed in center field, that former pitcher Mike Fiers says they used to steal signs and then quickly communicate them to batters.
Now The Athletic has discovered even more.
In a 2017 email acquired by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, someone described as a “Houston Astros front-office executive” emailed a list of scouts and asked for their help in stealing signs.
“One thing in specific we are looking for is picking up signs coming out of the dugout,” the email’s sender wrote in a message from August of 2017. “What we are looking for is how much we can see, how we would log things, if we need cameras/binoculars, etc. So go to game, see what you can (or can’t) do and report back your findings.”
This story isn’t over. Far from it. Go read more at The Athletic.
