Sign-stealing has always been a part of baseball. I mean, not blatantly and infamously like the Houston Astros did to win the World Series, but more dynamically. Catchers, pitchers, and infield players must protect their signs at all costs because their rivals can spot them in real-time.
But, after the Astros scandal, it seems like every single team in Major League Baseball is a bit over the board when it comes to their signs. They've been borderline paranoid about it and never hesitate to make accusations.
That happened a couple of days ago when the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, as second baseman Nick Madrigal said that Miguel Cabrera was getting signs from the second base.
Miguel Cabrera On Sign Stealing: 'I Don't Play That Game'
The Tigers ended up beating Lucas Giolito and taking a 5-2 triumph home. However, Cabrera was clearly disgusted about this accusation, and addressed the situation during a virtual press conference:
“I mean, c'mon, I don't play that game," said Cabrera. "You need to [show] respect, you know? You don't need to show up me, or the runner on second, try to say we're passing signs from second. Come on. I don't care why they do it, but they need to stop because we don't play that game; that's why I said something to him right away. Everybody's paranoid about all that stuff right now, but they're over the limit. We don't play like that. We respect the game," Miggy concluded.
A.J. Hinch Stands By Miguel Cabrera
Needless to say, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch stood by his star's word. Then again, the fact that he was the manager when the Houston Astros cheated doesn't do much - if anything - to help their credibility:
“We knew he was talking to somebody, too. Miggy talks to a lot of guys when he plays. It was hard to distinguish what was going on. I didn't think anything of it until today when you guys asked him the question [about it], and obviously, I got the update," Hinch said.
At the end of the day, Miguel Cabrera is one of the greatest hitters of all time so it's not like he needs to steal signs to get the most of the best pitchers on earth. So maybe, we should stop with the constant accusations.
