The Houston Astros’ apparent sign-stealing system was as brazen as it was simplistic: Someone in a dugout hallway with access to a live game feed would bang on a trashcan to signify an off-speed pitch.
It took former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers going on the record about the cheating to force a league investigation, but the cheating scandal has done little to calm the paranoia of clubs across baseball. According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, MLB has heard those concerns from teams and has looked into technological options that would make sign stealing virtually impossible.
The Astros allegedly used technology to cheat, and now baseball wants to use technology to stop the cheating. Via Yahoo:
One of the devices in development, described by league sources, is a wearable random-number generator (similar to a push password used for secure log-ins) that corresponds to which sign in a sequence is relevant. This would preserve the existing dynamic of a catcher putting down a sign for interpretation by the pitcher, but overlay it with a level of secure encryption that would be virtually impossible to decode even with a dedicated software program.
Alternatively, the finger system could be replaced by in-ground lights on the mound. Sources with knowledge of the idea said catchers would have access to a control pad that corresponds to a lighting panel visible only to the pitcher. A certain button for a certain light sequence for a certain pitch.
There is where MLB is at right now: Multi-factor authentication to signal pitches is being looked at as a viable option — no VPN required! But honestly, what happens if this code system crashes? Unreliable connectivity is basically the norm at major sporting events. If that system goes down, would they actually delay the game to call IT or would teams be forced to go back to traditional signs? There are a lot of hurdles to work out here.
Instead of those needlessly complicated options, MLB could look into earpieces, but the Yahoo story pointed out that minor-league testing of earpieces brought back complaints about comfort. Still, that would seem like the most logical solution here, especially when something like “comfort” could be improved.
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