MLB punishes Red Sox for 2018 sign-stealing deemed ‘more limited’ than Astros’ scandal
Major League Baseball, terming the Boston Red Sox’s 2018 sign-stealing violations “far more limited in scope and impact” than the Houston Astros’ malfeasance, suspended a video replay monitor for the 2020 season and barred him from serving in that role in 2021 and docked the club a 2020 second-round draft pick.
In his report released Wednesday, Commissioner Rob Manfred also suspended Alex Cora through the 2020 postseason, but only for his actions as Astros bench coach and not Red Sox manager. The Red Sox fired Cora in January, two days after Manfred imposed similar one-year bans on Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch, who were subsequently fired by the Astros.
The Astros won the World Series title in 2017, and Manfred’s report indicated their sign-stealing system – involving the banned use of a camera, video monitor and trash cans to signal pitches to their batters – continued through the postseason.
In 2018, the Red Sox won 108 games and eventually the World Series, but MLB’s report indicated the rules-breaking ceased after the regular season.
‘WHERE’S THE MORAL COMPASS?’ Houston Astros cheating scandal exposes MLB’s problems
And so, as many anticipated, the far less elaborate Red Sox rules-flouting resulted in much lighter punishment.
The target: J.T. Watkins, who according to MLB’s investigations used his perch in the replay room to update teammates on opposing teams’ sign sequences in real time.
Watkins, also a member of the club’s advance scouting staff, provided players with pregame sign sequences based on video scouting, which is permissible under the rules, but the in-game updates ran afoul of strongly worded memos and rules changed imparted by Manfred and MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre in 2017 and 2018.
