Mookie Betts claims the team knew the 2018 Boston Red Sox stole signs
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts confessed that the Boston Red Sox did steal signs in the 2018 season, and said that the team knew about it.
As sometimes happens when one is burdened with a sordid secret, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts went to a public platform to tell his truth.
Betts told Los Angeles Times columnist Dylan Hernandez that the team knew the Boston Red Sox were stealing signs in 2018, the year they clinched their most recent World Series title.
While the Houston Astros are the most recognizable face involved in sign-stealing scandals, Betts conceded that the Red Sox were involved as well, a year after the Texan team won their first major league championship.
The versatile outfielder was part of the Red Sox in the 2018 season. During the following offseason, he moved to Los Angeles, lured by a contract in excess of $300 million.
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Not in the World Series
Despite admitting to cheating, Betts said the scheme was not used all the time and was not used at all during the World Series.
“People are trying to make it look like we’re cheating,” he said. “Give us credit. We had a good team. Give us some credit. We had Cy Young winners. We had MVPs. We had Gold Glove winners. We had Silver Sluggers. We had all of that. Keep that in mind.”
The Red Sox defeated the Dodgers in the World Series that season, the second the Californians lost in a row, both defeats against organizations punished by MLB for using systems to steal signals.
An old issue revived
The reason the topic even came up when players started showing up for spring training is because over the winter, the Dodgers hired former Red Sox video replay coordinator JT Watkins.
Watkins was the one who deciphered opponents’ signs through the use of in-game video and was the only person from the Red Sox to be suspended as a result of MLB’s sign-stealing investigation.