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The benches cleared between the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox over the weekend, and it all stemmed from what appeared to be paranoia about sign-stealing.
Astros reliever Hector Neris purposely balked to advance a runner to third, then had an exchange with Red Sox third base coach Kyle Hudson that led to a dustup between the teams.
As Neris made his way off the mound, he had words with Hudson and yelled toward the Red Sox dugout, causing both teams, including bullpens, to come on the field before order was quickly restored.
Asked if he believed the Red Sox were stealing signs, Neris responded: “Maybe. Maybe yes, maybe no.”
Well, former Red Sox player-turned-announcer Will Middlebrooks thought that was a bit ironic.
“Imagine the Astros being mad about stealing signs,” the former infielder said.
The Astros, of course, were the architects of perhaps the biggest sign-stealing scandal in the history of baseball, where they would bang trash cans to signify what pitch was coming. It helped them to a World Series in 2017, and there have always been rumors and speculation about further digressions. It is illegal to use technology to steal signs.
“But guess what, that’s part of the game, when you can see the grip in a glove,” Midddlebrooks added.
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Ironically, the Red Sox themselves were accused of stealing signs in 2018, a year they won the Fall Classic, but it was revealed that the incidents were “far more limited in scope and impact” than the Astros’ the previous year, and most of the clubhouse wasn’t even aware of the wrongdoings.
Alex Cora was the Astros bench coach in 2017 before becoming the Sox manager ahead of the 2018 season. He was suspended for the 2020 season due to his role in the Astros’ scandal but returned the following season.
The Red Sox won the game, 7-3.
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