It's hard to keep track of all of Major League Baseball's current controversies, so you are forgiven if you are still sorting out the unpopular plan to cut dozens of minor league teams or have already moved on to news of an impending labor showdown.
Or maybe you simply can't keep straight the investigations into the Astros. A month go during the World Series it was about an executive who was eventually fired. Now Houston is in an ocean of hot water over allegations that has been stealing signs electronically — including in 2017 when it won the World Series.
But this sign stealing investigation is one where we really need to keep our eyes on the ball.
Former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers was the whistle blower of sorts, and now MLB is investigating. Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday, "Any allegation that relates to a rule violation that affects the outcome of a game is the most serious matter; it relates to the integrity of the sport."
Conventional sign stealing is unsavory, but it has been built into the culture of baseball (and other sports and life itself, one supposes) as some sort of espionage subplot. It's not against the rules; stealing signs with a came is definitely against the rules.
If you want to say that electronic sign stealing is basically the same thing as a runner on second base cracking a code from a distance with just his eyes — and what the Astros did is just a 21st Century version incorporating the evolving tools at our disposal — then perhaps you should try this analogy:
Sign stealing that involves nothing but cracking the code unaided by technology is akin to stealing someone's wallet that has been left in a relatively unguarded area. The person doing the stealing is still to blame and in the wrong, but the victim contributed with carelessness.
Sign stealing like the Astros (and apparently other teams) engaged in is akin to stealing someone's credit card information by hacking into a secure system. The person doing the stealing has gone beyond a mere crime of opportunity.
