BOSTON – Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday he considers the postseason sign-stealing controversy involving the Houston Astros to be a closed matter, with no evidence of a violation, but suggested the league could revise its rules regarding the use of technology in stadiums next season to prevent future incidents.
“Sign stealing in and of itself is not a violation of our rules. It’s been a part of the game since Lassie was a puppy,” Manfred said before Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park. “Where it becomes a problem is where there is a use of technology that otherwise violates our rules to aid the sign-stealing process.”
The incidents in question involved an Astros employee being caught during both the American League Division Series in Cleveland and the AL Championship Series in Boston aiming a smartphone into the opposing dugout from a nearby camera well. The Astros later said the employee was only making sure the Indians and Red Sox were not using improper means to steal the Astros’ signs.
“Technology is evolving at a rate in a way that it is incumbent upon us to constantly review and update our rules,” Manfred said. “It will be a continuing topic of discussion in the offseason and probably have some changes for next year.”
Manfred acknowledged the link between an increased suspicion of widespread sign stealing and the glacial pace of play of games this postseason, with pitchers and catchers using complex, ever-changing signals to protect their signs.
“People (are) working really hard to gain an advantage in terms of winning a game, obviously within the rules,” Manfred said. “Playoff games, because it’s a huge stage, are always going to be a little longer. Having said that, we need to make every effort that we can to make our games as crisp and have as little dead time as possible.”
Manfred’s remarks came to a small group of reporters following a ceremony in which St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was named the recipient of the 2018 Roberto Clemente Award for his humanitarian efforts in aiding his native Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Manfred also acknowledged that changes in the deployment of pitchers – with starting pitching de-emphasized and relievers entering games earlier and more frequently – has raised questions both about how to market a product that historically has been built around starting pitching matchups, and how to compensate pitchers in this era of fluid roles. Several high-profile pitchers have theorized the changes will have a downward effect on starting pitcher salaries.
“I do think that starting pitchers being on the field less presents yet another challenge for us,” Manfred said. “Some of our greatest stars are starters and if they are out there less, it has a predictable effect. … We have a market system. The market’s going to answer that question. I’m not sure that trend is persistent enough to have a market effect. But we’re going to have another (free agent) market here in a few weeks, and we’ll see what happens.”
Manfred also said he has had an ongoing dialogue over the past few months with union chief Tony Clark, who has raised concerns in the past over the slow-moving nature of last winter’s free agent market – but who has also been hesitant to embrace some of Manfred’s ideas for streamlining the on-field product.
“I’ve spent a lot of time between the All-Star Game and (now) talking directly to Tony trying to map out the things we’d like to have meaningful conversations about during the offseason. … That dialogue has been positive, and I’m looking forward to having these conversations in the offseason.”