Four former Houston Astros players are confirming long-standing suspicions that the team steals signs. In a report published Tuesday by The Athletic, written by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, four members of the 2017 World Series team detail the way the team stole signs during home games.
The report does more than explain the tactics used by Houston to sign steal, it also asserts that sign-stealing — although deemed illegal by MLB — is rampant in the majors and is an issue that the league is not cracking down on.
In addition to three anonymous former Astros speaking to their experiences with Houston’s sign-stealing during its 2017 World Series season, pitcher Mike Fiers is identified in the article as a source. The group claims that the Astros positioned a video camera in the outfield at Minute Maid Park and used a video screen in the home dugout to decode signs that were being used by the opposing team’s catcher.
Conflicting memories of when in 2017 the Astros employed the sign-stealing tactics are included in The Athletic’s report, which says “Two sources said the Astros’ use of the system extended into the 2017 playoffs. Another source adamantly denied that, saying the system ended before the postseason.”
Houston has denied sign-stealing as recently as during the 2019 ALCS when the New York Yankees believed the team was using whistling noises to indicate a particular pitch was coming. The Astros also denied similar claims during the 2018 ALCS when reports said that the team was caught sign-stealing versus the Boston Red Sox.
The Astros declined to comment on The Athletic’s report and MLB’s statement in the article acknowledges teams and sign stealing in a general sense, pointing to changes in the MLB policy that were made before the 2019 season following league-wide complaints in 2017.
MLB is investigating the Astros culture, following the firing of assistant GM Brandon Taubman, and the deep dive could be expanded to find out which members of the organization were and are aware of the sign stealing.