St. Louis Cardinals try to steal signs, too, but within ethical bounds, Mozeliak says
The cheating scandal that has enveloped the baseball world in recent weeks has thus far steered clear of directly impacting the St. Louis Cardinals, but that doesn’t mean that figures in the organization haven’t developed strong reactions to the shocking revelations.
“In my opinion, the whole sign-stealing scandal has kind of degraded the value of baseball a little bit,” Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner said Saturday during the team’s annual Winter Warm-Up event. “Baseball lost a little bit of the integrity that it had.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a report which found systemic issues in the Houston Astros organization, which utilized video technology and a choreographed system of audible alerts to inform batters of which pitch was being delivered to the plate. Manfred suspended Houston manager AJ Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow for the 2020 season and each was subsequently fired by the Astros.
So, too, were Boston manager Alex Cora and New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who were each with the Astros during the 2017 season and implicated by Manfred in the scheme. With 10% of major league managers losing their positions within the last week, those in the game are left to grapple with the fallout, which should continue once Manfred wraps up a similar investigation of the Red Sox.
“I think anything that can happen on the field with the use of nothing, other than your own mind, should be completely allowed,” Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said. “It’s been that way for a century. I think when you start to look at technology, or artificial intelligence to help you determine those tells, I think that crosses the line.”
The Cardinals do have a coach on staff who was part of the Houston organization in the period of time in which the cheating occurred. Hitting coach Jeff Albert was a minor league coach for the Astros in 2017 but on the major league staff in 2018, when some aspects of the sign stealing operation were still in place.
Mozeliak said that, after checking with the commissioner’s office, he’s confident that Albert was not involved.
“My first question (to Albert) was, ‘Should I be concerned with anything that’s happened with your time in Houston?’” Mozeliak said. “He was very frank and said ‘no.’
“Don’t ever want to come out and say he’s completely clear, because who knows as this thing continues to unravel, we don’t know what the end game is. But my hope is this is something he can put behind him and he doesn’t have to worry about future discipline.”
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said on Friday night on KMOX that the team, suspicious of others throughout the game, had a frank conversation about their own sign stealing techniques and were emphatic about their desires to stay within the lines of legality. Mozeliak reiterated that commitment Saturday.
“I wasn’t in that conversation, but I know I made it very clear that we’re not cheating,” Mozeliak said. “We’re not using technology.”
Outfielder Tyler O’Neill also said that he was “as entertained as you guys were” watching the fallout unfold on social media.
“I don’t know how they did that or what lengths they went to to steal the signs,” O’Neill said. “It honestly boggles my mind.”
Several Major League players, including former Cardinal and current San Diego Padre Tommy Pham, either implied or directly accused the Astros of utilizing an electronic buzzer system to alert players to oncoming pitches.
Social media accounts which were claimed to belong to others connected to baseball made a number of wild accusations, each of which was impossible to verify but still sent waves throughout the game.
One of those accusations, centered on Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, forced MLB to issue a statement denying that any player has received a therapeutic use exemption which allows them to be treated with human growth hormone.
Outfielder Harrison Bader said he had “no idea” if other teams were using technology to steal signs, preferring instead to “keep (his) head in (the Cardinals’) clubhouse.”
He did, however, agree that the knowledge the Cardinals had stayed within the bounds of the rules provides the team with at least some confidence as they -- and he -- seek to rebound from a 2019 season marked by offensive struggles.
“Baseball is a funky game,” Bader said. “Certain ball/strike calls, or catches, or ball falls it could go either way. Just to make it that far, speaks obviously volumes to the level of talent and the level of confidence that we have in that locker room. All we’re going to continue to do is get better.”
Knizner, who said that he was taught to protect the signs as a catcher as soon as he started to play the position, ultimately took the position of the baseball purist -- or, if you prefer, the ethicist.
“Baseball’s been around for over a hundred years,” Knizner said, “and everybody’s always trying to steal signs. But you do it the right way. Getting a guy at second base or maybe one of the first or third base coaches trying to peak in and see your signs, that’s acceptable. That’s playing the game, that’s trying to gain a competitive edge within the means of the rule book. So yeah, I have no problem if guys are trying to get the signs. I mean, that’s the game. I don’t think any extra measures should be taken to get the signs.
“Play the game the right way.”
