Houston Astros players and coaches have acknowledged to MLB that the Astros used a video camera stationed in center field at Minute Maid Park to decode signs in real time, according to a report from SNY. The folks involved claimed that it was an existing camera that had been approved by MLB, not a new camera installed for the purpose of stealing signs, but that the live feed was provided during the 2017 season.
The justification being offered, per the report, is that it was no different than what other teams were doing, and was “in line with industry standards.” This is kind of ironic, given that, when Chris Correa of the St. Louis Cardinals was caught having illegally accessed the Astros’ computer database, his justification was that the Astros had stolen data from the Cardinals first.
Even prior to this report, it doesn’t appear that there was any real dispute from anyone other than the most homerrific of Astros fans that the Astros were using electronic means to steal signs. If this report is true, then MLB has confessions from folks involved that the Astros were cheating, and the only real question is going to be how hard they drop the hammer on Houston.