Baseball fans -- this whole Houston Astros scandal is more interesting that I thought.....

borg wrote:

If they used a camera or even binoculars from outside the playing field then shit needs to come down hard. If players on the field pick...

If they used a camera or even binoculars from outside the playing field then shit needs to come down hard. If players on the field pick off signs it's one thing but somebody off the field relaying info, that's really bad. It's hard to believe that they were actually doing that. No way to keep that a secret for long. Not the way players change teams these days. I really do hope that they were not using a camera or some other device. It would change the way I think about pro baseball players and sportsmanship.

peelout wrote:

my coach used to grab his balls, yank his crotch, dig in his ass, etc to tell us the calls. i thought it was genius at...

my coach used to grab his balls, yank his crotch, dig in his ass, etc to tell us the calls. i thought it was genius at the time.

turns out he had a few STD's at the same time for about 5 years straight

borg wrote:

If they used a camera or even binoculars from outside the playing field then shit needs to come down hard. If players on the field pick...

If they used a camera or even binoculars from outside the playing field then shit needs to come down hard. If players on the field pick off signs it's one thing but somebody off the field relaying info, that's really bad. It's hard to believe that they were actually doing that. No way to keep that a secret for long. Not the way players change teams these days. I really do hope that they were not using a camera or some other device. It would change the way I think about pro baseball players and sportsmanship.

BMSOBx2 wrote:

Didn't they accuse Belicheck and the Patriots of doing that one year?

borg wrote:

If they used a camera or even binoculars from outside the playing field then shit needs to come down hard. If players on the field pick...

If they used a camera or even binoculars from outside the playing field then shit needs to come down hard. If players on the field pick off signs it's one thing but somebody off the field relaying info, that's really bad. It's hard to believe that they were actually doing that. No way to keep that a secret for long. Not the way players change teams these days. I really do hope that they were not using a camera or some other device. It would change the way I think about pro baseball players and sportsmanship.

BMSOBx2 wrote:

Didn't they accuse Belicheck and the Patriots of doing that one year?

borg wrote:

I remember something like that but nothing came of it apparently. I remember when a running back was tipping his hand by leaving his chinstrap undone...

I remember something like that but nothing came of it apparently. I remember when a running back was tipping his hand by leaving his chinstrap undone when he wasn't going to get the ball. The defense picked up on it and benefited. But to me, that's not really cheating.

BMSOBx2 wrote:

Didn't they accuse Belicheck and the Patriots of doing that one year?

borg wrote:

I remember something like that but nothing came of it apparently. I remember when a running back was tipping his hand by leaving his chinstrap undone...

I remember something like that but nothing came of it apparently. I remember when a running back was tipping his hand by leaving his chinstrap undone when he wasn't going to get the ball. The defense picked up on it and benefited. But to me, that's not really cheating.

Johnny Lock wrote:

Spygate 2007. Unauthorized filming to steal defensive signals.

If proven about the Astros, that’d be nuts.

BMSOBx2 wrote:

Didn't they accuse Belicheck and the Patriots of doing that one year?

borg wrote:

I remember something like that but nothing came of it apparently. I remember when a running back was tipping his hand by leaving his chinstrap undone...

I remember something like that but nothing came of it apparently. I remember when a running back was tipping his hand by leaving his chinstrap undone when he wasn't going to get the ball. The defense picked up on it and benefited. But to me, that's not really cheating.

Johnny Lock wrote:

Spygate 2007. Unauthorized filming to steal defensive signals.

If proven about the Astros, that’d be nuts.

mxtech1 wrote:

Take a look at their batting average splits between home and away. I think Altuve was something like 400ish at home and ~137 on the road....hahaha

APLMAN99 wrote:

So I don't follow baseball as much as I used to, and from just reading the headlines I thought that the sign stealing was just one...

So I don't follow baseball as much as I used to, and from just reading the headlines I thought that the sign stealing was just one of the "unwritten rules" being broken. But after reading a little about it, this is actually huge it sounds. As in, they were using hidden cameras to steal signs then using sounds to alert their batters as to what pitch to expect huge.

If this gets proven, I could see them "losing" their World Series title from 2017 but what really makes me wonder is if there could be some sort of lawsuit against them by the sports books and the like to offset any losses they suffered because of the cheating. That could be billions, potentially, and might even end up with some criminal fraud charges against folks. Just a thought.

TXDirt wrote:

Strange how the Astros lost all four home games if this cheating was going on. Or did they only do it the World Series they won...

Strange how the Astros lost all four home games if this cheating was going on. Or did they only do it the World Series they won but not this last World Series?

Would it be hard to enforce a rule of no electronic devices and televisions in the dugout?

Can’t the refs walk over anytime and see this supposed television?

How much does sign stealing help? I get it’s an advantage. But just how much of one? You still have to hit the ball. When a batter is locked in are they really listening to a sound or signal mere second before a pitch. Almost seems like that would be terribly distracting.

G-man wrote:

Crazy stuff yeah I agree how can a batter focus on hitting a 95 mile an hour fastball if he's trying to get an edge on...

Crazy stuff yeah I agree how can a batter focus on hitting a 95 mile an hour fastball if he's trying to get an edge on a sign from The Dugout?

Yeah I'm old school some of this modern baseball stuff I don't agree with.

The defensive shift really brings down a lot of potential hits and men on base. I think they should limit them from going across 2nd base either way.

I've also never really understood having the catcher get the pitch sign from the dugout.

I would think the catcher would know more than anybody on what the best pitch that the pitcher can throw at that time and what not to throw.