Makes you appreciate Mariano Rivera and what he accomplished with basically one pitch. You go up there and everyone in the stadium knows the cutter is coming. No sign stealing needed. And you still can't do anything with it
It's so funny though that they used this sophisticated camera to steal signs, but to convey the message they use the least subtle, most cavemanish method possible.
@@tylerdonat2027 yes there is jackass. You never heard of embedding mics into their helmets? The NFL has it why couldn't the Astros invest in it? Theres no way to know its there unless the dumbass player responds and looks like hes talking to himself. Or says, "what was that??"
@@JB-zo7ln Because that is way too obvious. All that has to happen is a helmet falls off and an umpire sees the earpiece. Just saying, before you start calling people a jackass, you better make REAL sure you are not about to post something stupid. It is LEGAL in the NFL...it is CHEATING in baseball.
@@JB-zo7ln That may be the dumbest thing I've heard yet. Do you realize the fallout there would be if a team got caught with receivers in their helmets? That would go beyond player cheating and into full-fledged organized cheating that goes to the top. All it would take is ONE honest player, coach or maintenance person to blow the whistle. If you want to see a team go from being slapped on the wrist with a fine to losing their next season to heavy sanctions, then they will do it your way.
Ill never forget Bob Wickman (Indians Closer) Intentionally balking a runner to third up by 1 run in the 9th because the Twins were stealing signs. One of my favorite 100 IQ plays ever.
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I’m a die hard Astro’s fan, but I’m very disappointed that the astros went that far to gain an edge when they had the talent to win it all anyway.
I’m an Astros fan through and through too and it sucks this is coming to light because you want your team to win honestly, however, Houston isn’t the only team that does this, they shouldn’t have.. Therefore, although I am disappointed, people need to be dragging every team through the mud that does this because Houston isn’t the only team.
Dodgers had much better talent in 2017. I swear if I ever see anyone wearing Astro's WS gear.... I will want to smack them but I will at the very least give them a dirty look or cough cheaters at them. I live in NYC and it really really sucked having to stay up till 3AM to watch a loss. Just dirty.
It's a lot worse than that because when I guy is on second the catcher knows there's a guy on second. The correct analogy is it's like having an INVISIBLE guy on second every pitch.
Any theories on how the Astros thought they'd get away with this? For this to work, most of the team would have to know about it. Players change teams pretty frequently. It's only a matter of time before someone spills the beans.
also, how hard-in-the-paint they were about cheating was dumb... they should have just done it sometimes against their worst teams to play against and limit the use of it ... but they did it basically every game and their stats make it sooo obvious.
The multiple different games being given prove it’s true. The astros players have plenty of talent without cheating. I think this really discounts their achievements. To me this is right up there with corked bats which in my opinion doesn’t really help and scuffed balls. They should be docked draft picks and major money.
I have to disagree this is a much larger advantage than a corked bat or steroids, because those still require good contact without knowing pitch speed or location. So far we know they were given indications of speed, which is half the battle.
Well the real issue is the visiting team does not have access to that realtime catcher cam. I mean with pinetar corked bat and steroid both teams has equal opportunity. If the Astros install the catcher cam on the visiting dugout and say hey we are stealing signs with this then it would be fine....
If they are found guilty of stealing signs the “illegal way” they need a Heavy punishment. If they are not punished heavily, then Pete Rose should be inducted into the Hall Of Fame.
It's pretty much confirmed. Way too much evidence in terms of video/audio proof, 4 former and present astro players/staff admitting it happened, and the crazy home/road splits.
People who say that it’s not a big deal knowing the signs, never played mlb the show, guessed a pitch and hit it out cause you knew a fastball was coming 😂
Eric Seigle red for the fastball, blue for off speed. I can’t hit a good curveball to save my life on that game 🤣 I’ll be stealing signs all day with tech
@@Hollowhalf17 "Straight ball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar and rum. He will come."
A 90mph pitch reaches the batter in 400 milliseconds. Less than half a second. A player has half that time to pick up the ball, read the pitch, decide to swing or not and if so start the swing. By then two-tenths of a second have elapsed (two blinks of the eye) the ball is half way to the batter. Batter has to hit the ball within 1/8" of the center of the barrel of the bat and has a few millisecond oe a window to time his swing.
I used to go to the games and sit even with the base in the stands, binoculars at the ready to watch our teams pitching to spot differences in delivery for our team, and spotted a few pitchers stance changes. Helped our team to play better.
Astros fan here…agree with everything said here. They didn’t just steal signs, they stole that first world series championship memory from their fans. I’d like to believe that team was good enough to win it all without the cheating, but we’ll never know. Still a fan, but still disappointed.
@@Wolverine2532 okay. I only watched the world series and the dodgers gave multiple signs even with no runners on. So, not sure it helped then. And as for Darvish, that game 7 was away. But you may be correct on the other post season games.
Well, when I played back in the day, like 34-38 years ago, the only thing coming across the plate was a fast ball. Breaking balls were against the rules. Fast ball coming and I crushed it. Busted ALOT of windshields during those years. Didn’t really play past my sophomore year. Had way too much other stuff going on.
To an extent, yes. But in football, the result of the play depends on what every single player does on the field. If the quarterback sees what type of defense is coming, he can call an audible and change the play. If a hitter knows what type of pitch is coming, they can immediately change his swing without the pitcher being able to do anything about it after the ball leaves his hand.
I cant get over how amazing your channel is. Your knowledge as a pro versus other channels with no MLB experience for example how important knowing signs are, only pros can know that..you can see the difference in quality...keep it up bro
Stealing signs is a massive advantage. It’s like playing poker and knowing the opposing hand. You won’t always win with your hand but it sure does help.
Thanks for putting this out there. People have to hear it from guys who know what they're talking about if anything is ever going to get done about this. That's just the way it is. Fan debates will never solve anything because too many fans don't care as long as it's their team or their superstar who's getting away with something.
I love baseball so this really makes me think back to the steroid scandals when they were all coming out. I was younger when all that stuff was happening so I was so scared my favorite player would be caught next. This is the same, I don't want my Braves to be found out as cheaters next. Plus Brian McCann was on that team in 2017, so it hurts.
@@fjccommish I would guess it will all come down to evidence. If there is the same evidence against Boston i would assume MLB would go after them too. And if they don't then that's a problem.
There was a team that we were able to figure out just by looking at the pitching coach. Before each pitch, he crossed off the corresponding number as he called it. Well it turned out that pitches happened to be separated onto different sides of the paper. So for instance, FB was far left, CB middle-left, SL middle-right, CH far right. Just by looking at the coach, we were able to call the pitch accordingly using code talk. Our hitters had a field day against their pitchers. Edit: finished a dangling participle in the last sentence.
Outstanding! Great explanation on not only sign stealing, but on why Big League hitting is so difficult compared to lower levels. You must make a fine coach. Your kids are lucky to have you.
Thanks Matt, always informative and entertaining. Wanted to share this with you: You remind me of an ex minor league coach I had when I was playing u12 as a 9year old (1970's) - even then he had a system of indicators that were based on batting order (which I still remember) with a dozen plays, even held a kangaroo court after each game. Taught how to read the catchers' signs and how to watch the forearm muscles of the pitcher, taught trailing cuts from the OF, defensive rotations, SS and 2nd calls, palm balls, and tons of baseball stories and jargon (can of corn, dauber) how to take care of equipment, etc. It made us feel like real ballplayers. It sounds over the top for the age, but it was about learning the game and It was so much fun and interesting to learn at that age, the practices were a blast, and no one goofed around in the dugout because everyone was into the games. The parents never interfered either - sounds like baseball Utopia. (BTW bought some of the Jax gloves which are great, and now they have black)
1 bang was for slider, two bangs was for change-up. Nothing for fastball. It wasn't as loud until for some reason with the White Sox. It was the loudest.
Max Mauer did you see the game 5 breakdown? I just saw it and I really feel bad for the dodgers. All of the “clutch” homers in the 10 inning 13-12 game were definitely cheated on
It was an Epic game, but now we know it was all a lie due to Astros cheating. Doesn't matter Astros won game 7 outright,.they cheated their way to force a game 7.
Get to the CHOPPAAA Astros good team the can actually win a game without cheating just like WS game 7. Unfortunately they only got there by cheating. Cowards and those trying to defend cheaters are no different.
@New Age Scam Artist Filming the signs and relaying them live to the tunnel IS illegal in the baseball world. It straight up says in the rule book that teams cannot use technology to steal signs. The Astros broke a baseball law...thus it is illegal. Edit: It is one of the reasons that the television feed available to the public is on a 15 second delay. It was to prevent teams from being able to steal signs via the local television broadcast.
Astros fan here... I'm not happy about it. The only reason I'm not furious, is because I figure a lot of teams do it. A lot of teams have had similar accusations against them for years and years. That doesn't make it okay... just I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
Don't forget, if you know it's a fastball as a hitter, you know you can shorten your swing and depending on the count you can guess where the location might be. When it's a breaking ball and you know the count is in your favor, why even swing. There are so many advantages when you can eliminate certain pitches because location becomes at times obvious as well, depending on the count your in.
First time viewer, but thanks for this GREAT explanation of both signs and sign stealing. You clearly describe how signing can be complicated and how it is valuable and how lazy teams get their signs stolen because they aren't careful or smart. I am glad you also told people that MLB considers the use of sign stealing through electronic means or that are transmitted DURING THE GAME, to be a violation of the rules. What the Astros have done - and horrifyingly in the year they won the World Series - is really serious and sad.
Great job summarizing the issue. Now I can show this to all my friends that don't quite understand what the big deal is. Oh, and the Dodgers should be the 2017 World Series champions now.
If they were to strip the title, it would be vacant. That time has passed. They can't reverse time and bring back the 2017 dodgers to battle the 2017 yankees.
Which proves that cheating wasn’t necessary. They were talented enough to win on their own. Nixon needn’t bug the DNC in ‘72 or NE Patriots deflating footballs. Plus Bonds and Clemens roiding up. All talented and heavy favorites. To get an edge by bending the rules makes them scum of the Earth in my opinion. Hope MLB renders the harshest judgement possible to that organization.
marlboroman71818, you’re kidding right? Clemens was implicated by his trainer and his friend Andy Pettitte. Also named in the Mitchell Report. Like Bonds, had some of his best seasons after age 40. Still not in HOF. So the baseball writers thinks he’s guilty. How else does the human body improve its performance at the highest level of competition as they age?
MLB has to do something, BIG. Abdicate the WS they won, fine them $50mil and take away all draft picks for three years. We can't have another "roid era". Stop this with a nail.
@@rickbaker4571 I was stopped for speeding on a bridge. I was the slowest car on the bridge. As the officer wrote the ticket, another police car came to a skidding halt. A cop rushed out of that car, ran up to the cop writing the ticket, shouted, "you can't give this guy a ticket - he was the slowest car in the bunch." The first cop came over to me, handed back my license: "Apparently I'm not supposed to give you a ticket. Have a nice day."
Totally agree and have literally been saying the exact same thing in other posts. If you know what pitch is coming it’s almost impossible not to get good contact unless you’re a terrible hitter or an amateur. It’s just a matter of finding the gaps. Astros should be stripped of their chip and the Astros’ hitters should have all their hitting awards and all-stars revoked.
I’m going to be honest, I love the Astros. But in regards to why very few teams had made a big deal about it until now is because literally everyone is trying to do it. It’s like why pitchers get rarely called out for using pine tar and shit-because if you’re team is doing it too you can’t call someone else on it. The Astros are being singled out for their success. It’s still against the rules and there should be some sort of punishment but I don’t think you can punish them too harshly because everyone else is trying to do it too
Philip Emanuel Dumpster Fiers uses pine tar . Watch the video of his no hitter and it’s illegal . Doesn’t matter who else does it but it’s illegal . Fiers is ok with cheating or gaining an edge anytime it benefits him !
Life might be a bit harsh. How about no draft? None at all. A huge fine! Not a million dollars to a team that's worth a billion or 2. A huge fine! A full season suspension with NO pay and you just forfeit that season's money...
NOO NOPE Astros should lose a lot of draft picks over the next couple of seasons. And YES, GM and management involved should be banned for life. You cannot ban Pete Rose for a simple betting scandal and let those Astros people get away with less punishment.
Yes! It's a huge part of the game! I only played up to college ball in d2 and saw this make a huge difference. We had a guy transfer from another team in our division. We played them 3 times a year, getting spanked my first two seasons. Maybe took 1 game in the series...well he comes to our team from theirs my junior year. The coach Kept the signs from the previous season and we had every tell on lock. Swept the series that year. If you never played, you don't get it I guess.
It seems like a risky thing to do because, based on those home/away splits, it looks like some guys got dependent on the signs being stolen. If you start getting used to knowing what’s coming, i would imagine your ability to think the game and start guessing what comes next would atrophy a bit.
My son 14 years old (he's a pitcher) was in the dugout and could see the catchers signs, so he recognized the signs and relayed them to the hitters. That's a proud moment!
I love this video I couldn't agree more about stealing signs. If yuor signs get picked be smarter and change them. I grew up and saw Sports Illustrated post a story about the high school I went to where an EX pro baseball player's brother told his players to throw at batter because my high school stole the signs from second base. It was crazy
preach, great summary. Steal the signs for sure, just do it the right way w/o technology. Shame on the astros they have so much talent they didn’t even need to do this. Throw a huge asterisk next to ‘17 WS
2017 Astros scored 106 more runs on the road than at home. They hit more HRs on the road and their road record was 5 games better than home. Not saying they didn’t cheat, the evidence is pretty clear, but the numbers don’t necessarily show it.
Once again you have another very insightful youtube video! I always enjoy listening to you and the very smart player's point of view with backing up your opinion with your playing and coaching days! Bravo to another great video!!!!!!!
Really awesome video, I groaned when you were going into the basics of sign stealing thinking I knew everything about it already but actually learned a lot.
Great video! Now, will you please do a video on Rule 21 (d)? I am so sick of guys arguing this rule. Will you please explain how it works, how big of a deal it is, and how it is posted in every big league teams clubhouse? I think this would be a great video for people who really don’t understand the rules and ones that don’t fully understand how big of a deal this rule really is. Thanks for all your knowledge and insight. Love all your vids. BTW, get out of that Colorado farm system as quick as possible. Lol
Astros GM, AJ Hinch and every coach for the astros from 2017-2019 should have at least a one year ban from baseball. Also the astros should not be allowed any draft picks or international free agent signings this season
I saw a post showing 2017 splits for Astros players BA home vs. away. Altuve over .400 at home, .143 on the road, McCann .300 at home .037 on the road. I think somebody should give back their WS trophy.
Excellent insight. Thank you for sharing. And I completely agree with you. This is a huge deal and is very damaging to MLB. The punishment must be severe. The message must be sent that this type of cheating will set your organization back if you’re caught. Perhaps fines for all involved and being ineligible for the postseason for 2-3 seasons.
There’s been a guy on every team I’ve played on who had a knack for stealing signs...Whether it’s the third base coaches or the catcher’s signs to the pitcher. From my perspective, I didn’t want to be tipped because I’d rather be fooled by the pitch, rather than relying on a tip possibly being wrong. Plus it feels better when you succeed honestly, rather than by cheating.
I've heard that when Albert Pujols hit the home run off of Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS, he knew the slider was coming based off of where Lidge held his hands
No, they are not. They are great two strike hitters because they study...and even then the best fail 7 out 10 times. They know what pitches a pitcher likes to throw and use that accordingly.
There was a good point made about how this could ruin someone's career. Guy gets called up from AAA for a spot start, gets knocked around and posts a 28.00ERA now he's back in the minors instead of having a shot at making the roster next year.
Wow, my thoughts are perfectly in line with Matt's regarding sign stealing. Giving a major league hitter the advantage of knowing what pitch is coming is almost comical. They're going to hit it and hit it hard.
Astros steal signs
Antonelli steals astros logo
Well played!
#RedePorrecista - Luiz Ferreira lol
😂😂
Seriously. I got a great idea for a new comic character: “The Astounding Arachnid-Person!”
Lol!!
Lmfao here's your like sir !
Makes you appreciate Mariano Rivera and what he accomplished with basically one pitch. You go up there and everyone in the stadium knows the cutter is coming. No sign stealing needed. And you still can't do anything with it
Legendary.
i don’t think he had developed the cutter at that point, and if he did, it definitely wasn’t close to the best it has been in his career
Luis Gonzalez would like a word.
Grande1124 that’s a fair point
Yes sir.
It's so funny though that they used this sophisticated camera to steal signs, but to convey the message they use the least subtle, most cavemanish method possible.
MrMusicfan678 😂😂😂😂
Not tryna defend the astros but like theres no other way to convey the signs to the batter in such a short amount of time
@@tylerdonat2027 yes there is jackass. You never heard of embedding mics into their helmets? The NFL has it why couldn't the Astros invest in it? Theres no way to know its there unless the dumbass player responds and looks like hes talking to himself. Or says, "what was that??"
@@JB-zo7ln Because that is way too obvious. All that has to happen is a helmet falls off and an umpire sees the earpiece. Just saying, before you start calling people a jackass, you better make REAL sure you are not about to post something stupid. It is LEGAL in the NFL...it is CHEATING in baseball.
@@JB-zo7ln That may be the dumbest thing I've heard yet. Do you realize the fallout there would be if a team got caught with receivers in their helmets? That would go beyond player cheating and into full-fledged organized cheating that goes to the top. All it would take is ONE honest player, coach or maintenance person to blow the whistle. If you want to see a team go from being slapped on the wrist with a fine to losing their next season to heavy sanctions, then they will do it your way.
So THAT'S what Bauer was aiming for when he launched the ball over the center field fence 😂
Haha good point!!
🤔🤣💀
That was in kansas city tho
Plus, the batters eye in kansas city is solid green and i dont see a hole out there ruclips.net/video/i5RI7a_GL1c/видео.html
@@sominboy2757 It's just a joke
RTTS Matt had Richie dig a tunnel under the pitchers mound so Kyle could be in the hole relaying the pitchers baseball grip to Matt.
“As a hitter If you’re looking for everything, you’re ready for nothing.”
That’s a good quote.
Some poor young rookie pitcher in 2017 is pumping gas now because they knew when he was throwing his curve. It just ain't fair.
You hit the nail on the head my friend. This kind of stuff ruins people's careers.
Just like the guys that didn’t use steroids.
Major Leagues to gas station attendant. Right...
BMDUBLU no I think he just meant he’s putting gas in his car. Probably still in the minors lol
Correspondingly, guys are getting huge money for artificially inflated offensive stats who are nothing more than average hitters in the real world.
Ill never forget Bob Wickman (Indians Closer) Intentionally balking a runner to third up by 1 run in the 9th because the Twins were stealing signs. One of my favorite 100 IQ plays ever.
Kenley Jansen did that a few times in 2019, too
Genius when it works, but if he gave up a single then it's a tie game.
@@dkroll92 you beat me to it. But yes he did do it a couple times this year
100 IQ is very low btw. 90 is average
@@jayit6851 They can score from second on a single too. And it's probably easier to hit if the person is stealing signs.
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I’m a die hard Astro’s fan, but I’m very disappointed that the astros went that far to gain an edge when they had the talent to win it all anyway.
It's a little odd it didn't help in the series. Is it possible they stopped after getting through the playoffs?
@@hardlyb allegedly it only happened during the 2017 season so maybe that's why
I’m an Astros fan through and through too and it sucks this is coming to light because you want your team to win honestly, however, Houston isn’t the only team that does this, they shouldn’t have.. Therefore, although I am disappointed, people need to be dragging every team through the mud that does this because Houston isn’t the only team.
Isaiah M. In the video Matt said the Yankees complained in the 2017 ALCS about whistles when a change up was thrown.
Dodgers had much better talent in 2017. I swear if I ever see anyone wearing Astro's WS gear.... I will want to smack them but I will at the very least give them a dirty look or cough cheaters at them. I live in NYC and it really really sucked having to stay up till 3AM to watch a loss. Just dirty.
“It’s like having a guy on second every pitch of the game”
That’s the best I’ve seen this put
It's a lot worse than that because when I guy is on second the catcher knows there's a guy on second. The correct analogy is it's like having an INVISIBLE guy on second every pitch.
Any theories on how the Astros thought they'd get away with this? For this to work, most of the team would have to know about it. Players change teams pretty frequently. It's only a matter of time before someone spills the beans.
That's basically what started this latest round of accusations, but they were able to get away with it for awhile and they got a world series win..
also, how hard-in-the-paint they were about cheating was dumb... they should have just done it sometimes against their worst teams to play against and limit the use of it ... but they did it basically every game and their stats make it sooo obvious.
This is my favorite baseball channel!
The multiple different games being given prove it’s true. The astros players have plenty of talent without cheating. I think this really discounts their achievements. To me this is right up there with corked bats which in my opinion doesn’t really help and scuffed balls. They should be docked draft picks and major money.
I have to disagree this is a much larger advantage than a corked bat or steroids, because those still require good contact without knowing pitch speed or location. So far we know they were given indications of speed, which is half the battle.
I definitely agree. Knowing the pitch is major with the kind of speeds and how good pitchers are at disguising them.
Well the real issue is the visiting team does not have access to that realtime catcher cam. I mean with pinetar corked bat and steroid both teams has equal opportunity. If the Astros install the catcher cam on the visiting dugout and say hey we are stealing signs with this then it would be fine....
When I was 8 and playing in Connie Mack Little League I always looked for the fastball and that is all they threw.
8 years old? I'm pretty sure they were only throwing change ups. Lol.
@@skyrise4996 The fact is there was only one speed in them good old days.....and usually not over the plate....gosh I love baseball!
If they are found guilty of stealing signs the “illegal way” they need a Heavy punishment. If they are not punished heavily, then Pete Rose should be inducted into the Hall Of Fame.
they will be found guilty.
Todd Easter Pete Rose is a piece of garbage
@@Jackmerius_Tacktheritrix5733 he only bet on his team to win
It's pretty much confirmed. Way too much evidence in terms of video/audio proof, 4 former and present astro players/staff admitting it happened, and the crazy home/road splits.
Enzo Gorlami Astros are a bunch of garbage. MLB should hit them hard. GM should get a lifetime ban.
People who say that it’s not a big deal knowing the signs, never played mlb the show, guessed a pitch and hit it out cause you knew a fastball was coming 😂
facts! their hitting zone lit up with red everytime!
Eric Seigle red for the fastball, blue for off speed. I can’t hit a good curveball to save my life on that game 🤣 I’ll be stealing signs all day with tech
@@Hollowhalf17 "Straight ball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar and rum. He will come."
A 90mph pitch reaches the batter in 400 milliseconds. Less than half a second. A player has half that time to pick up the ball, read the pitch, decide to swing or not and if so start the swing. By then two-tenths of a second have elapsed (two blinks of the eye) the ball is half way to the batter. Batter has to hit the ball within 1/8" of the center of the barrel of the bat and has a few millisecond oe a window to time his swing.
In that case you get the location also, no idea why that’s even an option in the game.
thanks for mentioning the splits matt, everyones seeming to forget that part. numbers dont lie.
I used to go to the games and sit even with the base in the stands, binoculars at the ready to watch our teams pitching to spot differences in delivery for our team, and spotted a few pitchers stance changes. Helped our team to play better.
Richie's youtube video tomorrow title- "Proof Matt Antonelli has cheated during games."
Haha!
Astros fan here…agree with everything said here. They didn’t just steal signs, they stole that first world series championship memory from their fans. I’d like to believe that team was good enough to win it all without the cheating, but we’ll never know. Still a fan, but still disappointed.
Thanks for giving your opinion!
I agree with you 100%. If they're gonna give signs to you, take them. But the technology is disrespect for the game.
The funny thing is they still lost 4 at home in the WS
They were not accused of this Durning the world series. It was regular season 2017... Not 2019
Marvin Heyboer they did this during the 2017 postseason as well
@@Wolverine2532 okay. I only watched the world series and the dodgers gave multiple signs even with no runners on. So, not sure it helped then. And as for Darvish, that game 7 was away. But you may be correct on the other post season games.
It's been reported that the Nationals decided to change their signs frequently throughout the series, largely because their opponents were the Astros.
C.J. Zimmerman this is true.
Well, when I played back in the day, like 34-38 years ago, the only thing coming across the plate was a fast ball. Breaking balls were against the rules. Fast ball coming and I crushed it. Busted ALOT of windshields during those years. Didn’t really play past my sophomore year. Had way too much other stuff going on.
Its basically like someone having a camera on an NFL coach’s playsheet and knowing exactly what they’re gonna run every play
To an extent, yes. But in football, the result of the play depends on what every single player does on the field. If the quarterback sees what type of defense is coming, he can call an audible and change the play. If a hitter knows what type of pitch is coming, they can immediately change his swing without the pitcher being able to do anything about it after the ball leaves his hand.
I cant get over how amazing your channel is. Your knowledge as a pro versus other channels with no MLB experience for example how important knowing signs are, only pros can know that..you can see the difference in quality...keep it up bro
I remember my coach giving me signs with the bases loaded, called for a bunt because he was the worst coach ever.
Stealing signs is a massive advantage. It’s like playing poker and knowing the opposing hand. You won’t always win with your hand but it sure does help.
I was born and raised in Houston and have rooted for the Astros my whole life. This just breaks my heart.
agreed..... from the Astrodome, to the hurt of '05 to actually WINNING! to having to admit that they won with an asterisk now....
It breaks the heart of anyone who is a baseball fan.
Cant believe they stole the ws from us. I feel bad for Kershaw because he was pitching a gem. I rewatched game 5 and you can't hear the whistling.
Erick Vizcarra in fairness, he would have choked anyway
He had pitched good that post season. Then he blanked those cheating a.. at home game 7
Thanks for putting this out there. People have to hear it from guys who know what they're talking about if anything is ever going to get done about this. That's just the way it is. Fan debates will never solve anything because too many fans don't care as long as it's their team or their superstar who's getting away with something.
I love baseball so this really makes me think back to the steroid scandals when they were all coming out. I was younger when all that stuff was happening so I was so scared my favorite player would be caught next. This is the same, I don't want my Braves to be found out as cheaters next. Plus Brian McCann was on that team in 2017, so it hurts.
Um, you do know Boston used electronics to steal signs in 2017, right? Is that like the steroid scandal?
@@fjccommish cheating is cheating right?
@@ShoeLessJoseph Yes. But MLB can't make some HUGE punishment for the Astros when MLB didn't make a HUGE punishment for Boston.
@@fjccommish I would guess it will all come down to evidence. If there is the same evidence against Boston i would assume MLB would go after them too. And if they don't then that's a problem.
@@ShoeLessJoseph MLB already found Boston guilty and fined them.
There was a team that we were able to figure out just by looking at the pitching coach. Before each pitch, he crossed off the corresponding number as he called it. Well it turned out that pitches happened to be separated onto different sides of the paper. So for instance, FB was far left, CB middle-left, SL middle-right, CH far right. Just by looking at the coach, we were able to call the pitch accordingly using code talk. Our hitters had a field day against their pitchers.
Edit: finished a dangling participle in the last sentence.
They're much screwed at this point
They're*
@@felmin809 same thing different spelling
I'm trying to put you on some game here bro
They’re very screwed here* much is not the appropriate modifier
Outstanding! Great explanation on not only sign stealing, but on why Big League hitting is so difficult compared to lower levels. You must make a fine coach. Your kids are lucky to have you.
It's a big deal. If it wasn't then it wouldn't have been done.
Thanks Matt, always informative and entertaining. Wanted to share this with you: You remind me of an ex minor league coach I had when I was playing u12 as a 9year old (1970's) - even then he had a system of indicators that were based on batting order (which I still remember) with a dozen plays, even held a kangaroo court after each game. Taught how to read the catchers' signs and how to watch the forearm muscles of the pitcher, taught trailing cuts from the OF, defensive rotations, SS and 2nd calls, palm balls, and tons of baseball stories and jargon (can of corn, dauber) how to take care of equipment, etc. It made us feel like real ballplayers. It sounds over the top for the age, but it was about learning the game and It was so much fun and interesting to learn at that age, the practices were a blast, and no one goofed around in the dugout because everyone was into the games. The parents never interfered either - sounds like baseball Utopia. (BTW bought some of the Jax gloves which are great, and now they have black)
Charley Finley in the 1970's proposed the catcher electronically give a sign to the pitcher.....ah ha! Why not?
Chances are it can be hacked or picked up by the competition if using radio waves.
the Strat it works fine in the NFL.
@@take1994 does it? What's your proof?
Thanks for the input Matt. If this accusation is true, then big credit goes to the Nats in the series. They shut down the astros at home
At this point the astros were not stealing signs anymore, they cover blown already.
Love your vids! Very entertaining and informative. Made me so much better at baseball!
1 bang was for slider, two bangs was for change-up. Nothing for fastball. It wasn't as loud until for some reason with the White Sox. It was the loudest.
In retrospect, I feel awful for the 2017 Dodgers; That was a team that really deserved a WS win.
Max Mauer did you see the game 5 breakdown? I just saw it and I really feel bad for the dodgers. All of the “clutch” homers in the 10 inning 13-12 game were definitely cheated on
It was an Epic game, but now we know it was all a lie due to Astros cheating. Doesn't matter Astros won game 7 outright,.they cheated their way to force a game 7.
New Age Scam Artist whistles the charge same thing Yankees mentioned
Get to the CHOPPAAA Astros good team the can actually win a game without cheating just like WS game 7. Unfortunately they only got there by cheating. Cowards and those trying to defend cheaters are no different.
@New Age Scam Artist Filming the signs and relaying them live to the tunnel IS illegal in the baseball world. It straight up says in the rule book that teams cannot use technology to steal signs. The Astros broke a baseball law...thus it is illegal.
Edit: It is one of the reasons that the television feed available to the public is on a 15 second delay. It was to prevent teams from being able to steal signs via the local television broadcast.
My favorite lesser known ex MLB player. Thanks for the videos!
Astros fan here... I'm not happy about it. The only reason I'm not furious, is because I figure a lot of teams do it. A lot of teams have had similar accusations against them for years and years.
That doesn't make it okay... just I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
I think they yankees were also accused of this, but yeah MLB is gonna have to fix this problem
when were the Yankees accused of sign stealing?
J.T. Thomas seriously? Lol the Yankees were fined for stealing signs
I had the comfort of knowing that nobody is gonna accuse the Giants of cheating
Don't forget, if you know it's a fastball as a hitter, you know you can shorten your swing and depending on the count you can guess where the location might be. When it's a breaking ball and you know the count is in your favor, why even swing. There are so many advantages when you can eliminate certain pitches because location becomes at times obvious as well, depending on the count your in.
That was the best explanation, thank you,
Thanks! Thanks for watching!
in high school our thirdbase coach would sometimes relay signs to us at the plate. It was so helpful, especially since I was trash at hitting haha XD
Speaking of Astros stealing signs, you played off of their logo
didn't just play off of it, he stole it and turned it 90 degrees.
First time viewer, but thanks for this GREAT explanation of both signs and sign stealing. You clearly describe how signing can be complicated and how it is valuable and how lazy teams get their signs stolen because they aren't careful or smart. I am glad you also told people that MLB considers the use of sign stealing through electronic means or that are transmitted DURING THE GAME, to be a violation of the rules. What the Astros have done - and horrifyingly in the year they won the World Series - is really serious and sad.
Great job summarizing the issue. Now I can show this to all my friends that don't quite understand what the big deal is. Oh, and the Dodgers should be the 2017 World Series champions now.
You mean Yankees
The title should be vacated, no winner at all.
Mike Mikey dude the Dodgers would have rolled the Yankees.
David M. Misrahi we’ll never know since they both got beat by a cheating astros team.
If they were to strip the title, it would be vacant. That time has passed. They can't reverse time and bring back the 2017 dodgers to battle the 2017 yankees.
Good shit. When I sat the bench 😢, I was ALWAYS trying to steal the signs to help my team out
I think I remember that the Astro's had a better record on the road than at home.
Damn... So they couldn't even cheat correctly???
Poor Astros, can't get shit right
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Not during the post season and world series which are high stake games
Which proves that cheating wasn’t necessary. They were talented enough to win on their own. Nixon needn’t bug the DNC in ‘72 or NE Patriots deflating footballs. Plus Bonds and Clemens roiding up. All talented and heavy favorites. To get an edge by bending the rules makes them scum of the Earth in my opinion. Hope MLB renders the harshest judgement possible to that organization.
@@ichironca and no proof at all that Clemens was roided up yet you have sentenced him.
marlboroman71818, you’re kidding right? Clemens was implicated by his trainer and his friend Andy Pettitte. Also named in the Mitchell Report. Like Bonds, had some of his best seasons after age 40. Still not in HOF. So the baseball writers thinks he’s guilty. How else does the human body improve its performance at the highest level of competition as they age?
Funny how right away after Darvish got rocked, the Astros said he was tipping. Like if to cover right away.
I still like the astros just like people still like the Patriots
I love how detailed this video was in explaining the sign system. Thank youuuuu
I'm getting married on the weekend and my fiance is coming down the aisle to the opening theme song. She's going to have to hustle.
Haha!
WELL EXPLAINED MATT! Thanks for your professional opinion.
If you’re an adult coach stealing signs in a little league game you need to check yourself. Other than that, I get it.
Love this channel. Thanks for clearing that up for people who don't understand the problem.
MLB has to do something, BIG. Abdicate the WS they won, fine them $50mil and take away all draft picks for three years. We can't have another "roid era". Stop this with a nail.
MLB didn't do anything BIG to Boston, caught in 2017 using electronics to steal signs.
@@fjccommish tell the cop "well you didn't pull over the guy that passed me" and see where that gets ya.
@@rickbaker4571 I was stopped for speeding on a bridge. I was the slowest car on the bridge. As the officer wrote the ticket, another police car came to a skidding halt. A cop rushed out of that car, ran up to the cop writing the ticket, shouted, "you can't give this guy a ticket - he was the slowest car in the bunch." The first cop came over to me, handed back my license: "Apparently I'm not supposed to give you a ticket. Have a nice day."
@@fjccommish that's a lovely story, and you tell it so well, with such enthusiasm.
Totally agree and have literally been saying the exact same thing in other posts. If you know what pitch is coming it’s almost impossible not to get good contact unless you’re a terrible hitter or an amateur. It’s just a matter of finding the gaps. Astros should be stripped of their chip and the Astros’ hitters should have all their hitting awards and all-stars revoked.
🤬🤬🤬When you thought today was the Franchise video and it’s not 😢
mbarth76 actually
Still a good video, nonetheless
Love all his videos!
I’m going to be honest, I love the Astros. But in regards to why very few teams had made a big deal about it until now is because literally everyone is trying to do it. It’s like why pitchers get rarely called out for using pine tar and shit-because if you’re team is doing it too you can’t call someone else on it. The Astros are being singled out for their success. It’s still against the rules and there should be some sort of punishment but I don’t think you can punish them too harshly because everyone else is trying to do it too
Philip Emanuel Dumpster Fiers uses pine tar . Watch the video of his no hitter and it’s illegal . Doesn’t matter who else does it but it’s illegal . Fiers is ok with cheating or gaining an edge anytime it benefits him !
Biggest cheating scandal in baseball since the 1919 “Blacksox” imo.
They should link the catcher with the pitcher via a Morse code electronic device.
Anyone involved owners too. Ban for life.
Life might be a bit harsh. How about no draft? None at all. A huge fine! Not a million dollars to a team that's worth a billion or 2. A huge fine! A full season suspension with NO pay and you just forfeit that season's money...
NOO NOPE Astros should lose a lot of draft picks over the next couple of seasons. And YES, GM and management involved should be banned for life. You cannot ban Pete Rose for a simple betting scandal and let those Astros people get away with less punishment.
Yes! It's a huge part of the game! I only played up to college ball in d2 and saw this make a huge difference. We had a guy transfer from another team in our division. We played them 3 times a year, getting spanked my first two seasons. Maybe took 1 game in the series...well he comes to our team from theirs my junior year. The coach Kept the signs from the previous season and we had every tell on lock. Swept the series that year. If you never played, you don't get it I guess.
It seems like a risky thing to do because, based on those home/away splits, it looks like some guys got dependent on the signs being stolen. If you start getting used to knowing what’s coming, i would imagine your ability to think the game and start guessing what comes next would atrophy a bit.
My son 14 years old (he's a pitcher) was in the dugout and could see the catchers signs, so he recognized the signs and relayed them to the hitters. That's a proud moment!
I love this video I couldn't agree more about stealing signs. If yuor signs get picked be smarter and change them. I grew up and saw Sports Illustrated post a story about the high school I went to where an EX pro baseball player's brother told his players to throw at batter because my high school stole the signs from second base. It was crazy
Can’t wait to watch our star gm in the spotlight next franchise video...
preach, great summary. Steal the signs for sure, just do it the right way w/o technology. Shame on the astros they have so much talent they didn’t even need to do this. Throw a huge asterisk next to ‘17 WS
11:20 dude, I thought someone was banging around my upstairs 🤣 maybe someone was trying to relay signs. 😂
2017 Astros scored 106 more runs on the road than at home. They hit more HRs on the road and their road record was 5 games better than home. Not saying they didn’t cheat, the evidence is pretty clear, but the numbers don’t necessarily show it.
Look at the strikeout rate. They went from 15th to 1st in the league in one year. And the 2nd place team wasn't even close.
Once again you have another very insightful youtube video! I always enjoy listening to you and the very smart player's point of view with backing up your opinion with your playing and coaching days! Bravo to another great video!!!!!!!
bro this is so insightful. thanks for talking about this
As an Astros fan...... this sucks.... i can't even wear my World Series champs shirts anymore..... it hurts.
Really awesome video, I groaned when you were going into the basics of sign stealing thinking I knew everything about it already but actually learned a lot.
Astros used to control the wind speed and direction back in the Astrodome days especially in the 70’s
Great video! Now, will you please do a video on Rule 21 (d)? I am so sick of guys arguing this rule. Will you please explain how it works, how big of a deal it is, and how it is posted in every big league teams clubhouse? I think this would be a great video for people who really don’t understand the rules and ones that don’t fully understand how big of a deal this rule really is. Thanks for all your knowledge and insight. Love all your vids. BTW, get out of that Colorado farm system as quick as possible. Lol
I have a feeling that that "green" batters eye had a ulterior motive to it. Tals hill came down winter of 2016
Half a billion dollars would be a good fine. Plus some for the Dodgers would be a good start.
Astros GM, AJ Hinch and every coach for the astros from 2017-2019 should have at least a one year ban from baseball.
Also the astros should not be allowed any draft picks or international free agent signings this season
I saw a post showing 2017 splits for Astros players BA home vs. away. Altuve over .400 at home, .143 on the road, McCann .300 at home .037 on the road. I think somebody should give back their WS trophy.
Excellent insight. Thank you for sharing. And I completely agree with you. This is a huge deal and is very damaging to MLB. The punishment must be severe. The message must be sent that this type of cheating will set your organization back if you’re caught. Perhaps fines for all involved and being ineligible for the postseason for 2-3 seasons.
Awesome take and video as always Matt! Keep up the great insight.
Always love your insight, Matt! I think you're spot on with what you said in the video. Thanks for sharing!!
I agree with you 100%, I didn't like that filthy 90 mph curve ball when I played, wish I knew it was coming, I would wait for the fast ball
There’s been a guy on every team I’ve played on who had a knack for stealing signs...Whether it’s the third base coaches or the catcher’s signs to the pitcher. From my perspective, I didn’t want to be tipped because I’d rather be fooled by the pitch, rather than relying on a tip possibly being wrong. Plus it feels better when you succeed honestly, rather than by cheating.
I've heard that when Albert Pujols hit the home run off of Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS, he knew the slider was coming based off of where Lidge held his hands
Huge yankee fan but I said during 2017 with the Astros and 2018 with the Redsox. The looked like they knew what pitch was coming
Agreed. The punishment needs to be severe. Need to set a precedent and warrant other teams from trying this level of cheating again.
I totally agree!! The Astros should has been forecd to give up the WS Trophy to prove the point!
You say “you can’t look for everything” but there are a lot of great 2 strike hitters who it seems are looking for everything
No, they are not. They are great two strike hitters because they study...and even then the best fail 7 out 10 times. They know what pitches a pitcher likes to throw and use that accordingly.
They aren't looking for everything. They are looking for one thing and protecting against everything else.
There was a good point made about how this could ruin someone's career. Guy gets called up from AAA for a spot start, gets knocked around and posts a 28.00ERA now he's back in the minors instead of having a shot at making the roster next year.
Blue Skies Again (not on DVD), the woman baseball player gave a sign to a player hitting on her wanting to teach her "the signs". The middle finger
The thing is not just taking the signs, but to know what the catcher is trying to indicate the pitcher to throw.
Nice job! In the World Series unlikely any electronic sign stealing since the road team won every game.
yea i was kinda pissed when they beat my yanks
Wow, my thoughts are perfectly in line with Matt's regarding sign stealing. Giving a major league hitter the advantage of knowing what pitch is coming is almost comical. They're going to hit it and hit it hard.