Be better than this. Nobody needs help facing you https://t.co/DlUDwjJn4X— Christian Yelich (@ChristianYelich) November 15, 2019
Background:
The camera shifts, right after Yelich’s eyes move, to show Darvish already off the rubber. Almost like... He went from concentrating on Darvish to not doing that, because Darvish stepped off... https://t.co/Yp4gBdmO7G— Spencer Michaelis (@smichaelis234) November 15, 2019
And: A new article in the L.A. Times: "Yu Darvish is conflicted over Astros sign-stealing allegations."
Darvish was surprised by the allegations that surfaced this week in a story by the Athletic ["The Astros stole signs electronically in 2017 — part of a much broader issue for Major League Baseball"]."Four people who were with the Astros in 2017, including pitcher Mike Fiers, said the team used a camera in the outfield to steal signs at home games....
“What’s been reported up to this point is that they used cameras at their home field, so I don’t know if there was anything like that,” Darvish said. “But what they were doing was so high-level that I can’t honestly say there’s no chance they were also doing it on the road.... If you ask me if I got hit in Game 7 because they stole signs, I don’t think so,” he said. “The Astros have great players who don’t have to do that. So I think that whether or not they stole signs, the results wouldn’t have changed.”
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30 comments:
Sign stealing is common. Could be that Yelich was just looking at where left-side fielders were positioned. Or not.
Both of those guys have really keen eyesight.
Hey Yu! Great attitude.
"Sign stealing is common."
Sure, but doing it with a camera, and then tying it to a AI program that quickly can decipher and inform batters of what pitch is coming, is not.
I know little, and care less, about this controversy, but it illustrates one of the things I hate about baseball. The game is rife with unfairness, chicanery, and outright cheating. The general ethos of the game is “it’s not against the rules if you don’t get caught”, with flexible strike zones, brush backs with a deadly weapon, corked and tarred bats, pitchers secretly altering the ball to suit their preference, and players openly “razzing” opponents with behavior that would be considered grossly unsportsmanlike in almost any other game, but that coaches teach players to do from a young age.
How baseball came to be seen as the exemplar of good, clean American fair play I’ll never know.
In other words, unlike religion and politics, baseball is not hypocritical and acknowledges actual human nature and not the pretend bullshit our religious and political leaders preach and then don’t follow.
"How baseball came to be seen as the exemplar of good, clean American fair play I’ll never know."
Ha! Baseball is PERFECT as a symbol of American society's distinctive combination of "High ideals" + "low morals" approach to life. This is not a comment on Dems v GOP, Trump v Hillary,etc. Charles Dickens was writing about our peculiar national character in Martin Chuzzlewit.
The Shot Heard Round the World happened from a stolen sign.
Yelich is being disingenuous.
Nobody needs to steal a sign.
But they all try to.
Give the Astros props for being tech savvy.
Is it against the rules to steal signs this way? Sign stealing is a long time practice in the game- by the base coaches and runners on the bases, especially 2nd base. Teams battle this by changing the signs in pre-agreed ways. I don't see why pitchers and catchers can't combat this new technological method, too.
The way most teams crack down on it as by throwing at the other team’s best player.
Chris Sale is the best at this. He’ll hit any player he thinks is stealing signs.
Is it against the rules to steal signs this way? Sign stealing is a long time practice in the game- by the base coaches and runners on the bases, especially 2nd base. Teams battle this by changing the signs in pre-agreed ways. I don't see why pitchers and catchers can't combat this new technological method, too.
So you're saying that 'all's fair in love, war and baseball'? ;-)
Yelich seems like a douche with this tweet.
OK Yelich.
Watch Yelich's eyes before he steps into the batter's box - and before the catcher gives the pitch signal - he makes the same kind of glance. He's looking at something else.
Signs are made out in the open. Why can’t you read them?
How is it “stealing”?
It’s looking and seeing.
Althouse beat me to it.
I guess this is “inside baseball”.
If the pitcher ran to the plate, grabbed the bat and hit the batter on the head we'd see Achilles calling us pussies for objecting.
Ken B said...
If the pitcher ran to the plate, grabbed the bat and hit the batter on the head we'd see Achilles calling us pussies for objecting.
Oh look. Another childish douche who can't argue with points people actually make and have to argue against straw men of their own creation.
Signs are made out in the open. Why can’t you read them?
How is it “stealing”?
It’s looking and seeing.
In football, Bill Belichick [Patriots Head Coach] was fined for videotaping the opposition sidelines.
I don't see anything close to what the guys at Bleacher Nation are alleging. It's a douchebag comment from Yelich, especially since there are claims his/their stats against Yu don't back up his claim. The biggest douchebags are at Bleacher Report for their belligerent defense for something so subtle it's nonexistent to so many people...
Ann Althouse said...
Signs are made out in the open. Why can’t you read them?
How is it “stealing”?
It’s looking and seeing.
I agree. This is a bunch of silly nattering.
If they want signs to be unstealable give everyone ear pieces and microphones. If they want consistent strike zones use ladar.
They don't want any of that. They want drama.
There are people who just want to clutch pearls and get upset about shit. They want people suspended and banned from the league!
Oh the humanity!!1!1!11!
Bitches gotta bitch.
Stealing signs is considered gamesmanship when done by players, cheating when done any other way. Surely this difference is easy to see and understand from the baseball player’s perspective:
(1) Uniformed players on the field where they are supposed to be, using their senses to see what is plainly visible when standing near 2nd base: okay. They don’t like it but can live with it and would try to do the same thing themselves.
(2) Non-uniformed spectators in the stands using technology to relay information the batter could not get otherwise: cheating.
Obvious, no?
Whether one agrees with this distinction is immaterial to understanding that it exists and is commonly understood by the people in the game. They get to decide what is and is not cheating.
Several years ago there was an allegation that the Minnesota Twins grounds crew would switch on and off the air conditioning system in the Metrodome (back in the 80s and 90s) to gain advantages over the opposition in the late innings.
Cheating, not gamesmanship.
It’s about players vs. non-players, mostly.
This whole Astros thing has got all of baseball pouring over old game film, Zapruder style, to uncover more sign stealers.
Extremely juvenile response by Yelich, btw.
Blogger Char Char Binks said...
I hate about baseball... unfairness, chicanery, and outright cheating.
How baseball came to be seen as the exemplar of good, clean American fair play I’ll never know.
That's exactly what American fair play is all about. I'm sorry to break it to you, Mildred, but the motto operandi of the world's only Superpower is "Just Win, Baby". Coffee is for Closers, loser.
(2) Non-uniformed spectators in the stands using technology to relay information the batter could not get otherwise: cheating.
Obvious, no?
One would think so. But, alas ...
Darvish accuses Yelich of cheating, and Yelich gut punches back to the slander by saying he doesn't need any help hitting against Darvish, and Yelich's response is inappropriate?! Screw Darvish.
As a 35 year baseball umpire...if you ain’t cheatin you ain’t tryin. From youth to college baseball, people will do damned near anything. Meh.
"This whole Astros thing has got all of baseball pouring over old game film, Zapruder style, to uncover more sign stealers."
I'm wondering when someone will arrange for digital enhancement of old Gaylord Perry footage.
Darvish and Yelich’s comments were more subtle. Darvish didn’t say Yelich was stealing signs. He just said he didn’t know why Yelich looked away.
Yelich didn’t say he didn’t steal the sign. He just said no one needs to steal the signs against Darvish.
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