Boston Red Sox reportedly stole signs illegally during 2018 season

The Boston Red Sox are about to be in some heat. Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of the Athletic reported that they stole signs illegally in 2018.

Remember about a month ago when I said that the Boston Red Sox would be under a microscope after the news of the Houston Astros’ cheating broke out? Turns out, the Red Sox may have actually been stealing signs illegally during their 2018 championship run. Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic first broke this news.

Although most of the article is behind a paywall, the part that is free to read states that the Red Sox used the replay room to steal signs. The replay room’s purpose is for managers to look at calls by the umpires and see if they want to challenge them, and Major League Baseball made it known that it is not allowed to use this room to steal signs.

This is obviously different from what the Astros did and does not provide as big of an advantage (the Astros literally set up a camera in center field), but it’s still something that is not condoned by MLB. I would compare it to the Apple Watch ordeal from a couple of years ago, which didn’t turn out to be that big of a story. However, on the heels of the Astros’ controversy, this may be looked at more intensely.

If this is proved to be true, it obviously has implications for the organization and especially for manager Alex Cora. Cora was also a member of the 2017 Astros staff that was originally caught stealing signs illegally. Now linked to two cheating scandals, Cora could face severe punishment.

This isn’t the most shocking development, but it is very disappointing as a fan. This type of thing should not be in the game, but some teams are willing to overstep certain boundaries for the sake of getting a competitive edge. Unfortunately, it looks like the 2018 Red Sox were one of those teams.

I’ll reiterate that Rosenthal and Drellich are passing on this information from sources and as of now nothing is concrete. We don’t know for certain whether or not this information is entirely true. However, it’s still worth paying attention to for fans and media alike.

I’m not convinced this is an offense great enough to command harsh discipline on its own, but given the fact that Cora is now a repeat offender, it may affect the Red Sox more than it would otherwise. The team does not deserve the benefit of the doubt given that the manager is familiar with this sort of thing. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

An offseason that was plodding along just got a bit more interesting for Boston, but not in a good way. As of now, this is just a report and it will likely take some time for the evidence to come about if there is any. Regardless, this is not a good look.