Phillies bullpen coach busted using binoculars.....

[barrelman2010]

In baseball it's only cheating if you get caught

 

Discuss

[owbc]

Stealing signs has been an accepted part of baseball throughout its history. The Phillies will gladly pay the penalty and will most certainly come up with a different way to steal signs.

[pitchleague]

yes, I think it's funny that they got caught but how is it any different, really, from a runner on 2nd relaying signs or pitch location to a batter? It happens all the time, even when the battery changes the signs. I wouldn't be surprised if teams are successfully stealing signs at least once or twice a game. Maybe not blatantly with binoculars, but.

 

 

 

barrelman2010, I know you are new here and just want to give you a heads up. When starting a thread, please do more than just posting a link and stating "discuss." Why don't you give us your opinion of the matter first? Or elaborate on the topic in your own words. I'm not scolding here, just molding you into a better poster. Thanks!

[dlk9s]

I personally don't have a problem with it, but I guess I could see the difference between the bullpen coach using binoculars and a runner on 2nd trying to steal signs. The bullpen coach basically becomes a team member dedicated to stealing signs, whereas the runner on 2nd has to do it within the confines of the game. If that makes sense.

 

I remember in high school, there was a team that a) I happened to never end up pitching against, and b) whose manager relayed the pitch selection to the catcher to give to the pitcher. From my vantage point in the dugout, I cracked their code within an inning. Good times.

[pitchleague]

Ha! I remember doing that with my teammates from the bench in high school as well. Of course, our coach sent in the signs, too. And we tried to tell him how we would always figure out the other team's signs and that they were surely doing the same to him, so why bother?

 

Something about a 40+ year old guy wanting to call pitches because he doesn't trust a 17-year old behind the plate to do it and he wants to feel all important. Seriously, so many high school baseball coaches are terrible because they don't know how to teach baseball fundamentals and skills. They get by with their "coaching" and "managing" of games but the players never develop because they never learn anything. My high school coach was like that. I learned more in one month with my college baseball team than I did in 4 years on the high school varsity.

[dlk9s]

Yeah, I see what you're saying. I hated my high school varsity coach (should I say the school?), which resulted in the impossible: I didn't want to play when I got to college. But one thing I could say for him was that he pretty much just let us do our thing. We had a pretty stacked team full of smart ball players, so it was easy for him to do. I had the same catcher since 7th grade, so he knew exactly what pitches to call for me. I rarely had to shake him off.

 

But we digress.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Stealing signs is part of the game of baseball....however using binocs takes it a little to the extreme. If you dont stop that, then you get video involved and a big smelly mess.

 

As far as coaches calling pitches, it works with some kids, but not with all. Some players really need to learn the game before they can call their own. For example, you dont grove a fastball down the pipe when your up 0-2, no matter how hard you throw. A lot of little league all-stars get stuck in this mindset......and thus when they get older they get rocked! I have been coaching for 7 years now at the high school level, and with every other coach I have worked with, I have always believed that it is the coaches job to teach a catcher how to call their own game. By the time a kid is a senior, they should be able to call their own game....if the coach calls it or not, by then you should have the ability to know your staff and call a good game.

 

But that is a good debate to have, as not all major league catchers call their own pitches. So who knows what is really right!

[Roderick]

In baseball it's only cheating if you get caught

 

Discuss

How does the information get from the bullpen to the batter? Rotating guys standing up or stretching or something?

 

I can understand a camera/telescope with some type of signal that a batter could see, but I'm not sure how feasible this scenario is.

 

I assume he is just half-blind like me and needs them to see that far.

[joepepsi]

I'm surprised teams don't have a guy watching the catcher on TV.

[Buckylovesbeer]

I agree with you Roderick. It would be very difficult to get that information to the batter before the pitch.

 

I agree with you as well joepepsi, they probably (should) do this already. To chart what certain pitchers throw in certain counts and situations......but then again, maybe not. I guess I assume that they keep charts on all starters and closers.

[drezdn]

If you planned it out right, it might be possible to get the info back to the batter in time. Back in the day, teams stealing signs would send them back to the batter via things like a light on the scoreboard. Once the spy has the signal, the batter could step out of the box or adjust his batting gloves until the signs get back to him. Sure, the catcher could change the sign after that, but the hitter will have a bit more of an insight into the situation.

[eanelson4]

I agree with some guy from MLB network (don't know his name) that talked about it. He basically said that stealing signs is part of the game when it is between the lines and inside the fences. When you get outside of that (i.e. coaches relaying signs) that's when it gets to be cheating and too much for my taste.

[jjkoestler]

I agree with some guy from MLB network (don't know his name) that talked about it. He basically said that stealing signs is part of the game when it is between the lines and inside the fences. When you get outside of that (i.e. coaches relaying signs) that's when it gets to be cheating and too much for my taste.

I couldn't agree more. Anything outside the lines and outside the park is bush league. It's that simple.