Major League Baseball has announced punishment arising out of its investigation of mutual accusations of improper gamesmanship between the Red Sox and Yankees. Both clubs will receive undisclosed fines, with the latter said to be tagged with a lesser amount.
Those interested in reading more about the allegations can read about it in full right here. In essence, the Yanks claimed that their long-time rivals were improperly stealing signs with the aid of an Apple Watch and other technology. In turn, Boston accused the Bronx Bombers of taking advantage of YES Network cameras to the same end.
Commissioner Rob Manfred found that the Red Sox did wrongfully use technology in the dugout, leading to the discipline. He did also note that certain factors were present that warranted some leniency, including that the misstep took place without any involvement of ownership or the front office and that the club cooperated in ceasing the activity and aiding the ensuing investigation. While the league could not substantiate the allegations against the Yankees, they were fined due to a finding that the club had wrongly utilized a dugout phone in a prior season.
Some may charge that Manfred gave the Red Sox only a slap on the wrist after taking away the watch. But he did put Boston and the rest of the league on notice not to expect such treatment going forward. “[A]ll 30 Clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks,” Mandred stated in the announcement.
Everyone knew from the start that MLB would do nothing more then give the Red Sox a slap on the wrist, they always let Red Sox or their players have leniency.
And you’re certainly not biased right?
Don’t act as though the Yankees aren’t the exact same as the Red Sox
Joking? You realize how light Gary’s suspension was?
Fined for phone use last season give me a break
Yes, it’s a huge conspiracy. In fact Manfred is just Henry in disguise.
Here….have a tissue
That must explain the countless Girardi head scratchers he makes all the time with his bullpen decisions.
Thats odd, so they fined the yankees for an infraction from over a year ago? And they acknowledged there was no front office or ownership involvement so this came from their players and coaches then? Maybe it was that ballboy that let air out of the balls!
“Maybe it was that ball boy that let air out of the balls!”
Deflated balls happen in Boston
Don’t talk about deflated balls when your team had A-Roid on its roster.
Ortiz and Manny the PED twins…
Ortiz never tested positive for anything illegal and Manny got pinched years after he left Boston. On the other hand there were so many Yankees in the Mitchell Report the cover had friggin pinstripes!!
Is never tested positive the same as never did it in your book. I’m starting to microwave my popcorn. Eagerly waiting response.
You can’t bring up the Mitchell report and defend Ortiz in the same sentence. They contradict each other
Personally I go back to the Jim Leyritz interview about “leaded” coffee and how he saw the same thing every where he went. Was Ortiz on something at some time, likely. Was it steroids, unlikely. After the Congressional hearings when baseball changed the rules, I seriously doubt it.
One more thing, I find it hilarious that any fan base can play the Ortiz steroid card. Find me one franchise where the team was clean.
Never tested positive for anything illegal…put your head back in the sand. Let us know how long you worked for the testing agency or tell us how you know…oh and Manny was in the Mitchell report also.
You Yankee fans crack me up you have to take shots at Ortiz let’s see he failed how many tests? That’s right exactly zero. Everyone points to the Mitchell report but no one knows what anyone tested positive for it could very easily been an over the counter supplement or even a diet product that triggered a positive test we will never know. What we do know is that he never tested positive when baseball implemented mandatory testing.
Actually Manny was NOT in the Mitchell report, look it up. He and Ortiz were named in a piece written by the New York Times 2 years later about a 2003 test. However that report has never been authenticated.
Actually the Mitchell report was very detailed about who took what. Though half of it is on hearsay evidence.
Though moot point in this argument, as I said earlier, since Manny and Ortiz are not named in the Mitchell report.
I will make my argument very easy for you that Ortiz did steroids please name me any other hitter in baseball who had an age 40 season comparable to him.
Not sure where you land on the WAR stat buts let’s use that as the yardstick. Remember any other 40 year old hitter in baseball in modern era. Please don’t give me someone from 1889. Go ahead. Ortiz using babseball reference was 5.1.
So your saying he took something his last year(s) undetected?
By the way I’ll give willie mays. And if you start comparing the two I think you should seriously quit MLB trade rumors.
Here’s the problem. This was during the time when so many people did steroids. Nobody and no team is clean of it. Currently no team is clear of it either. People are getting popped all the time because of it. Baseball, football has a rich tradition of “if you’re not cheating you’re not trying” there should be about zero fans trying to say one team is better/worse than the other.
The Mitchell Report by George Mitchell the Red Sox employee? Lol. Real credible.
Manny was not. Come back when you have a clue
Wasn’t a Red Sox employee at the time.
Exactly. Yankee fans love to speculate about other team’s players while dismissing the hard evidence on their own. It’s like bizarro world in the Bronx!
ARod and Giambi the Oreo cookie twins
Carlton Fisk, 1990 had a 5.0 WAR season. He was 42.
Luke Appling, 1942 had a 5.2 WAR season. Also 42.
Willie Mays, 1971 had a 5.9 WAR season. He was 40.
Stan Musial, 1962 only had a 4.0 WAR season. He was 41.
There are sometimes great exceptions. My stats come from fangraphs, easier to sort the data.
So would the logic follow that New York Times who probably have a few hardcore yankee fans on the payroll is also potentially biased?
Go to cbs.com…Ortiz says named leaked because too many Yankees on list,claims regional bias. Manny and Ortiz were on the 2003 list and Ortiz plays this game..look it up. Yes he used to the end.example clinics like Biogenesis mask usage.
No he didn’t use till the end period just stupid comment by an ignorant Yankee fan. Prove it don’t just say it because guess what since they started mandatory testing he failed exactly as many tests as Mariano Rivera.
The New York Times writers work for the New York Times. Not the Yankees. Mitchell works for the Red Sox. Not the Boston Globe.
Come on purple. You’re smarter than that.
Hey qbass, how long have you been a Red Sox fan? Clearly not very long if you think Mitchell wasn’t with the Sox back when the Mitchell Report was made.
(Mistake on me by the way by saying employee. I should have said Chairman)
George Mitchell has been with the Red Sox organization since 2001 when he was a part of John Henry’s group that bought the Red Sox. His report was done in 2007.
The Mitchell report was released in 2007 but the testing for that report was actually done in 2003 which is significant because even though steroids were banned in 2003 HGH was not until 2005 yet they tested for that substance just food for thought.
Hey a name for you Bartolo Colon got away with masking the tests until Biogenesis…did his time and probably at it again. Ortiz probably realized it was a matter of time till it came out. His deflections on what showed up on that 2003 test are akin to OJ saying he wanted to help catch the real killer.
Good points Bruin
My point is to show me someone involved in any of this doesn’t have bias. People quickly point at Mitchell and Selig for bias since no major Red Sox player or Brewer was on the list. But as I recall from the Mitchell report there were only a couple of sources that were willing to come forward and that was pretty much because they brokered plea deals. And as I said before, several times claims could not be backed up. So what is the Mitchel report really? Testimony of drug dealers against users.
You want to claim Mitchell was biased because he was a former Red Sox employee. Let’s really look at the Mitchell report, it’s not exactly a silver bullet at anyone but a couple of players. It doesn’t even name Palmiero who was one of the first major casualties of the post congressional hearings. Basically it’s a whitewashing job for MLB to have their biggest heads: Clemens and Bonds.
Lobbing accusations of bias based on grumblings. I’m going to turn this back on you MB923. We’ve sparred enough on this forum long enough for me to know you’re better than that. As my grandfather would once say, bring me some meat because I ain’t eating this.
Not even close what a silly comparison. We are talking about a guy that tested positive substance that was probably not even banned at the time if it wasn’t a supplement. Once again in the mandatory testing era he has tested positive never so cmon man let it go. When you have proof then ok but otherwise just let it go.
Dude, seriously? Every Sox thread you have to come on and say stupid crap like this ? You’re a Yank fan, if there’s one team in baseball that should be singled out for steroids, it’s the Yanks.
Correct sir. I read the whole damn report. Solely ammunition for the ignorant.
Name one other player that had a season like The Babe? Does that mean he was juicing too? Stupid comment, all speculation.
Ortiz was not involved in the biogenesis scandal
Find me one other face of a franchise that was dirty.
I thought it was A-Rod and Pettite
Never said he was just used that clinic as an example how Ortiz may have slid by. Do some research and you’ll see he’s been linked with some shady people and places. Go ahead and believe his career is clean,come HOF time he’ll get 40-50%(if that much) of votes needed. By the way aren’t you the same guy questioning Yankee flags since 2000?
Scott , is that directed at me? What “stupid crap” did I say?
You’re a dumbass if you think that. If he ever did take steroids it definitely wasn’t at the end of his career
Ortiz never tested positive and manny only had traced not the amount to suspend him
I bet on the Colts for that game and still don’t think they got hosed. Obviously had zero effect on the game. But please bring up more nonsense to validate your non-point.
And there are no balls in New York
That phone thing was so random especially since it was from a past season. But rules are rules I suppose. Adding on, I was a bit surprised it was just a fine, however it was better justified with the team memo threatening future draft picks for violating the rule. Bottom line, I doubt anyone risks it in the near future
I’m not surprised at all, about any of it. The ONLY reason any fine was assessed was because the Yankees made this public, which was a total No, no. Manfred himself called out the Yankees in his press conference so the fact the Yankees got pinched too is of ZERO surprise to me. That’s the real punishment in this thing. Basically hanging the Yankees out to dry!
It was a no no that the Yankees Calle out the red sox’s cheating? Gimme a break
It was a no no making this public without going to the Red Sox first the stop it. That’s how teams traditionally deal with this stuff: and t happens all the time. A more recent example: when Michael Pinaeda came out to pitch against the Red Sox with an obscene smear of pine tar on his neck. The Red Sox sent a message to the Yankees to have him cut it out. They had him remove it after the 4th inning. Then the next time they faced him he did it AGAIN! That’s when they went to the officials. That’s how it’s done. That’s how it’s been done for generations.
That’s what Manfred called the Yankees out on and it’s a bad look for the Yankees. They made the game look bad, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
Lmao the Red Sox used technology to cheat, the Yankees don’t look bad because they called them out. You are way to biased to have a valid opinion on this
A thread about the Red Sox AND Yankees bending the rules? This right here might be the making of the most cancerous message board of all time
The fact other teams fans whine about these two great franchises no matter what is comical.
For jeopardizing the Integrity of the game the ruling should have been $1,000,000 and a number one draft pick. That would send the message loud and clear and no one would ever consider doing it in the future. They really downplayed how damaging that action is to the game.
Not damaging at all. You sound ridiculous
This stinks all around. The punishment should have been much stiffer for the Sox and why didn’t they deal with this phone thing last season. Hopefully the fines go to worthy causes. MLB office looks weak after this type of decision making.
Fines are going to hurricane relief.
Haha! Idiot Yankees!
And what does that make the Red Sox? Even bigger idiots I guess.
Just the opposite. When you go outside the accepted parameters of how teams police one another and then get busted yourself for doing what you claimed another team did… makes you an idiot.
Except the Yankees didn’t get busted for doing what the Red Sox did. They get busted for something else which obviously was less severe.
HAHAH! IDIOT POSTERS!
Wow, very intelligent comment there Adam. That clears all of this mess right up. Can’t wait for more like this one.
I said it in a different thread about a different topic but it applies here too: Rob Manfred is the worst thing to happen to baseball since the strike.
Food fight!
Nice Blue!!!
I mean, who do you root for here? It’s like watching a movie with no good guys in it. Freddie Kruger vs. Chuckie.
When this story broke someone on here wrote something to the effect of ‘going to hold this over the Sox heads forever’….. Love the Yankee fans still acting like they are innocent.
Yup! They still got away with the YES spy cameras and using iPads to stream other teams broadcasts in the dugouts. So at least their fans still have that look forward to!
HAHAHA! YOU ARE HILARIOUS!
Would have been a much harsher punishment had it been any of the other 28 teams….except the Dodgers and maybe the Cubs.
Red Sox break a written rule of baseball, blatantly using technology to steal signs of other teams and give them a huge unfair advantage. They get basically the same minor punishment as the club that points out they were doing this, and the rest of the league gets a ”you better not do what the Red Sox did or you will face wrath’ warning. All people involved in this blatant written rule breaking are allowed to move on as if it never happened with not even a 1 game suspension being handed out to players who participated
Yep, tend to agree any other team and other teams players would have probably been punished pretty hard for such a blatant disregard for the written rules of the game.
You sound completely clueless as to how sign stealing works
They were busted for using technology illegally. You seem to act as if they did no wrong in doing so.
Doubtful. Wouldn’t have even been a story with any other teams
I completely agree. People are acting like they are getting off easy, which yes they are, but any other teams this wouldn’t have even been public. I doubt the Sox did this every game
Have we heard of any other teams calling this punishment too light?
“Toothless response” by Mighty Manfred, the owners’ wonder dog.
Hate to say I told you so, but… again a non-story, as I stated in this forum when this all came out.
Thank you. I really have to wonder if the phrase “apple watch” wasn’t part of the story if it would have every received so much attention.
Most likely not. Mountains out of mole-hills here. When this initially broke, I said the same thing and got blasted. It would seem that a lot of the commenters forget that a hitter may know what’s coming — but they still have to execute.
I’m sure that a lot of hitters face a guy such as Kershaw, know that a fastball is coming, but yet he is still a perennial NL league leader in strikeouts.
I think quite a few of the comments show who has actually played baseball vs who has not lol.
Total non-story cooked up by the Yankees for no good reason at all. A complete waste of everyone’s time that served no purpose but getting the gullible NY media and Yankee suck ups all worked up… Now it backfires in their face. How stupid was this??
Hey Q. Use your eyes and not your
Mouth. Your team used technology and only got off because it couldn’t be tied back to management. However your loop hole has been eliminated and your cheaters now need to play by the rules.
As they fade over the next few days Q you will have your little nookie with a patriots logo to suck on as the Red Sox drop off.
Enjoy second place
Open your eyes dummy! The Yankees did the SAME THING!!! That’s why they were fined!!! Duh
No they didn’t. You are either lying or just don’t no what’s going on.
Well, the comments were predictable. As was Manfred’s “justice”. He probably consulted Bud, who never let an opportunity for cronyism pass by.
Red Sox get caught red-handed and-SHOCKER!!!- nothing happens. Yanks wouldve been treated the same way. Where can I find the names of players who cheated. I already know that the chosen one, Pedroia was involved. How long has this been going on? Weeks, months, years? Lets just sweep this under the rug to ensure Boston makes the playoffs. Steroids and apple watches. Is there really that much difference?
WHAT?! THE RED SOX CAUGHT CHEATING AGAIN?! IMAGINE THAT!!! BILL BELICHICK MUST BE BESIDE HIMSELF!!! 😀
I love how people know that Ortiz was or was not on steroids. The reality is that we will more than likely never know.
Chipper said he never did it. He said shame on everyone that did. I want to believe him but I will never truly know. That whole era has been tainted.
Frank Thomas said the same.
David Ortiz did not take “steroids”. He tested positive for a substance that was not banned at the time of him taking it. This is a fact. So yes, I know he did not take “steroids”. Also, do you think steroids come in a giant bottle that reads “steroids”? Because I feel like most of you do.
He also went on to have an amazing career after that test. A career filled with countless of tests that he never failed again. Most known users saw their bodies crumble and production drop when the MLB woke up about Testing.
You can’t say he for sure didn’t though. The only person who knows is David Ortiz himself. This goes for every player in MLB history
That is just silly to say of course you can’t say for sure that he didn’t but then again there is no player in last 30 years that you can’t say for sure didn’t take steroids at some time.
This is quite the joke to be honest. You slap billionaires and millionaires on the wrist, that’s the punishment for CHEATING ? Want to be serious about it, forfeit games played and draft picks. The league wont because they have no balls.
This digressed quickly. Hey news flash guys everyone cheats in baseball. The Red Sox stole signs as I’m sure the Yankees did. The Yankees only got fined here because they brought attention to it.
Also Manny did roids in Boston as Arod did them in NY. The argument that he didn’t get caught until LA is mind numbingly stupid. And everyone did steroids or HGH or some other random drug in the 90s just accept it and move on.
And just for the record I’m a Yankee fan and I actually hope Ortiz’s last season was legit.
This whole MLB board is turning into a craigslist rants & raves slugfest.
The only complaints here should be against Manfred. How some of these other players/topics were added to this conversation befuddles me.
You know, Barry Bonds never failed a MLB drug test either… does that mean he was clean?
Bonds was not clean??
I hope one day when Ortiz runs out of money all the truth comes out on him. He is definitely tainted and you know it!
Most of the players in that era were! Heck all you gotta do is look at some of the photos of him and its totally obvious lol
And as far as the fines – who cares, they all do it and I don’t see it ending either.. stealing signs is part of the game.
Dombrowski said it himself and I quote.. “Do I think sign stealing is wrong? No I don’t. I’ve never thought it was wrong.”
So there you have it….for the red sox (maybe ALL Boston sports if you consider their track record!) at least, they won’t be stopping it any time soon.