Is It Wrong To Steal Signs In Baseball?

To some, this can seem like an ethical question. Sure this is no written rule about stealing signs in Baseball, but there are unwritten rules in every sport. Stealing signs is against that unwritten code. If your team has to stoop that low to cheat and steal signs then they need a lot of help. That being said, this debate came up because one of the better teams in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies were given a warning by Major League Baseball on Wednesday May 12th, 2010. Apparently the bullpen coach was caught using binoculars in the dug out and Shane Victorino was caught on the bullpen phone. Now no one knows for sure exactly what was going on, but you can make a pretty big speculation. In 2001 Sandy Alderson, Executive Vice President Of Baseball Operations, sent out a memo to all teams outlining the restricted use of electronic equipment to steal signs and giving an advantage to teams. Even if they aren’t using equipment and it’s just someone from second base stealing signs, it is still wrong and shouldn’t happen. Part of the fun in baseball is guessing what the other team is thinking and what they might do. If the other team knows you are going to steal 2nd or going to throw a fastball, then all the competitive edge has been taken away and the sport no longer becomes fun. We saw this same thing in the NFL a couple of years ago and it has been brought up in baseball for years. Either way it is wrong and shouldn’t happen.

Whether or not it shouldn’t happen, it does. People are always looking for that competitive edge. I remember stealing signs all the way back in little league. Why do you think signs have become so complex now? No longer is it just 1 hand signal for a pitch. The catcher will flash through 3 or 4 signals and only the catcher and pitcher know which one is the real one. The same goes for a third base coach. They usually have a tip signal like their belt or hat and then the real sign comes after that. Stealing signs has been going on since they appeared in baseball and has become part of the game. Sure using technology to do it might seem extreme. Not sure I would support video taping the 3rd base coach. But they watch pitchers on game film to look and see if they tip pitches and give that information to their players. That is no different than stealing signs. The 1 big problem can be if you get caught, you might get hit by a 90 MPH heater the next time you are up to bat. If you have ever played baseball or softball then you know stealing signs happens a lot more than people give credit for. This debate comes up every year and every year it continues to happen. Baseball has never put a written rule in so they are obviously ok with it as long as no one is going to the extreme. With that being said it can’t be all that bad that people are stealing signs.