Red Sox Caught Cheating at Baseball Using an Apple Watch

Red-faced Red Sox.

By Matt Davidson

A Major Baseball League investigation has found the Boston Red Sox guilty of illicitly using an Apple Watch to give themselves an advantage, by using the device to receive messages which indicated what kind of pitch was about to be thrown.

As reported by the New York Times, the Red Sox would have an off-field person watching a camera feed of the catcher; when the catcher signalled the play to the pitcher, they would relay the information to the dugout via Apple watch, where the information would then be passed to the batter.

It's not strictly the passing of information that's the problem here - "stealing signs", the process whereby a pitcher's instruction is somehow relayed to the batter, is perfectly legal when done through traditional means; the difference here is that the Red Sox - currently at the top of America's Eastern League Division - used technology to give themselves the advantage, which is against game rules.

The breach of rules took place in August during a three-game series against the New York Yankees, who provided video evidence for the investigation. The Red Sox have filed a countercomplaint against the Yankees, claiming that the Yankees use cameras from their YES TV network to steal signs.

Commissioner Rob Manfred is now considering what action to take against the team, and how to pursue with both the counter-complaint and any further investigations into the Red Sox, although he does caution that punishments haven't "ever happened with this type of allgation before", citing the fact that "it's just very hard to know what the actual impact on any particular game was of an alleged violation."

Apple Watches have been allowed in the dugout since 2015, providing that they aren't used for communication, and in August 2016 MLB and Apple announced a partnership that saw all 30 MLB teams receiving iPads for use in the dugout, along with a dedicated app called MLB Dugout which provides information to help coaches decide on strategy. There has been no comment from Apple regarding the use of their technology in this instance.

Matt Davidson is a freelance writer for IGN. If you're on Twitter, check him out.

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