Report: Red Sox used video replay room in '18 to relay signs

When Major League Baseball began its investigation into allegations that the Houston Astros used cameras and an elaborate system to relay signals, there was a general feeling throughout the game that they would, along the way, uncover other teams guilty of the same.

On Tuesday, that proved true, with the Red Sox ensnared in their own mess.

According to The Athletic, "three people who were with the Red Sox during (the 2018) regular season, at least some players visited the replay room during games to learn the sign sequence opponents were using.''

The Red Sox issued a statement hours after the story was first published.



"We were recently made aware of allegations suggesting the inappropriate use of our video replay room. We take these allegations seriously and will fully cooperate with MLB as they investigate the matter.''

The Athletic indicated that the Red Sox used a staff member to decode opponents' signs and sequences. That staff member would then relay that information to a player visiting from the nearby dugout. The player could then signal from the dugout to a baserunner on second, and the baserunner could, in turn, signal the hitter to help let him know what pitch was coming.

The 2017 Houston Astros used other methods to illegally steal signs, relying on an unauthorized camera in center field, linked to a monitor in the dugout. From there, a team employee would bang on a trash can to alert the Houston batter about what pitch was coming.

In both cases, Alex Cora is a potential common denominator.  Cora served as the bench coach for the Astros, and has been interviewed by MLB in conjunction with that ongoing investigation. And in 2018, of course, Cora was in his first year as Red Sox manager, directing them to a franchise-record 108 wins and a World Series victory.

The Red Sox led all teams with 876 runs scored in 2018 and an MLB-best .792 OPS. They scored more runs at home (468) than they did on the road (408), but such a discrepancy is hardly unusual in baseball, with teams performing better in their home ballpark and more familiar surroundings. Also, Fenway is known as one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the game.

(For that matter, The Athletic story noted that, with the same video replay crew traveling on the road, the Red Sox could have continued the same practice during away games, though the location of the video replay rooms in road ballparks isn't always as close to the dugout as it happens to be at Fenway).

In his career as a player, Cora had the reputation of being an expert sign-stealer, legally decoding pitches, sequences and tendencies, either from the field or the dugout. Such a practice is not illegal.

However, utilizing electronic methods -- via cameras, monitors etc. -- is expressly forbidden, a point Major League Baseball made explicitly clear in September of 2017 when the Red Sox were found to have used Apple watches to relay information from the clubhouse or video replay room to team personnel on the bench.

The Red Sox were fined by MLB at the time, but were warned that future transgressions would be dealt with much more harshly.

Presumably, they're about to be reminded of that.

Whereas it might have been difficult for MLB to severely discipline Cora for a past transgression that was committed with a former employer, Cora receives no such protection this time around. If an investigation by MLB -- which confirmed one would be undertaken after The Athletic's report -- reveals wrongdoing by the Red Sox in 2018, Cora will very much be held responsible -- perhaps more than any other figure.

Cora has declined to comment on the latest allegations.