The Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal during their 2017 World Series run is the subject of a new book titled “Winning Fixes Everything,” by The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. However, also in the book are various anonymous sources who accuse the Los Angeles Dodgers of using their own illegal sign-stealing scheme around the same time.
One allegation claimed the Dodgers set up cameras in center field at Dodger Stadium during the 2017 World Series that were connected to an iPad, allowing players to decode the opposing catcher’s signs in real time.
Another source told Drellich that an MLB official caught then-Dodgers players Joc Pederson and Chase Utley decoding signs in a video room during the 2018 World Series.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts denied any wrongdoing and said MLB came to the same conclusion after investigating the team, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
Roberts did confirm the Dodgers were one of several teams investigated by the league after the 2018 season for sign-stealing accusations — which were common around baseball at the time as teams grew more suspicious of one another — but that the probe “came up with nothing.”
The Dodgers were previously accused of cheating by Josh Reddick, who was acquired by the team at the 2016 MLB trade deadline before joining the Astros one year later.
In 2019, Noah Syndergaard, then-New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway and bench coach Jim Riggleman suggested the Dodgers were stealing signs and/or had assistance from some type of surveillance system.
“To be quite honest, I really don’t care what they think,” Roberts said at the time. “I know we play within the constructs of the rules and we prepare really well, we have really good players and we compete every pitch. To think we’re doing any undercover-op, wow. I don’t know.”
Alex Cora bragged about Astros stealing 2017 World Series from Dodgers
Alex Cora was among those who played a key role in the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal when he served as their bench coach before going on to become manager of the Boston Red Sox the following season.
After getting caught in the scandal, Cora expressed remorse for his actions. However, it has since been reported that he bragged about stealing the 2017 World Series from the Dodgers.
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