The “Yankee Letter” from 2017 that documents their sign-stealing techniques and punishment from Major League Baseball has been revealed.
SNY was the first to have the letter. ESPN obtained the letter as well but did not put the contents of it online. The Yankees had been fighting for years to keep the contents of this letter sealed.
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The letter from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, as documented on the SNY website and addressed to New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, reads:
Dear Brian:
On August 23, 2017, the New York Yankees filed a formal complaint and requested that the Office of the Commissioner “conduct a full and complete investigation concerning the illegal use of electronic equipment, in game, by the Boston Red Sox in order to steal signs and gain an illegal advantage in the game.” As a result of the Yankees complaint, I directed the Department of Investigations to interview a number of employees of the Red Sox and the Yankees in connection with this matter. Based on the information we received, I have concluded that the Red Sox violated On-Field Regulation 1-2.A by using electronic equipment for the purpose of stealing signs or conveying information designed to give a Club an advantage.” I will address this violation of the On-Field Regulations directly with the Red Sox.
During our investigation into the Red Sox’s misconduct, [Redacted] informed the Department of Investigations that the Yankees used a similar scheme to that of the Red Sox to decode opposing Clubs’ signs and relay them to the batter when a runner was on second base. [Redacted] -- who initially noticed that the Red Sox were using a smartwatch to pass information to their players -- admitted to the Department of Investigations that during the 2015 season and the first half of the 2016 season, [Redacted], provided information about opposing Club’s signs to players and members of the coaching staff in the replay room at Yankee Stadium, who then physically relayed the information to the Yankees’ dugout. [Redacted] also admitted that during that same time period, in certain stadiums on the road where the video room was not proximate to the dugout, used the phone line in the replay room to orally provide real-time information about opposing Club’s signs to Yankee coaches on the bench.
[....]
The Yankees’ use of the dugout phone to relay information about an opposing Club’s signs during the 2015 season, and part of the 2016 season, constitutes a material violation of the Replay Review Regulations. By using the phone in the video review room to instantaneously transmit information regarding signs to the dugout in violation of the Regulations, the Yankees were able to provide real-time information to their players regarding an opposing Club’s sign sequence - the same objective of the Red Sox’s scheme that was the subject of the Yankees’ complaint.
Based on the foregoing, the Yankees are hereby fined $100,000. Please send a check in that amount, made payable to Major League Baseball Charities, to my attention. The money will be used for Hurricane Irma relief.
In short, the report found that the Yankees used a dugout phone to relay information about opposing teams’ signs during the 2015 season and part of the 2016 season. The Red Sox were also found to have broken the rules.
Although many fans around all of baseball have been vocal about the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal, many in the Yankees’ fan base have been especially vocal in their disgust for the Astros’ wrongdoing.
Now, it appears the Yankees have some wrongdoing of their own that has been revealed.
The Yankees issued the following statement on Tuesday:
“The contents and details of the letter from Commissioner Manfred to Brian Cashman have widely been reported upon since 2017. As the facts of the letter again show, the Yankees were not penalized for sign stealing but were penalized for improper use of the telephone in the replay room (which was only to be used for discussions regarding replay review challenges). At that point in time, sign stealing was utilized as a competitive tool by numerous teams throughout Major League Baseball and only became illegal after the Commissioner’s specific delineation of the rules on September 15,2017.
“The Yankees were also vindicated by Major League Baseball regarding claims that the team employed YES Network resources in efforts to gain an illegal advantage during games. Those allegations were found to have no merit.
“The Yankees vigorously fought the production of this letter, not only for the legal principle involved, but to prevent the incorrect equating of events that occurred before the establishment of the Commissioner’s sign-stealing rules with those that took place after. What should be made vibrantly clear is this: the fine noted in Major League Baseball’s letter was imposed before MLB’s new regulations and standards were issued.
“Since Major League Baseball clarified its regulations regarding the use of video room equipment on September 15, 2017, the Yankees have had no infractions or violations.”
Major League Baseball issued the following statement on Tuesday:
“As previously made public in 2017, the New York Yankees were fined for improper use of the dugout phone because the Replay Review Regulations prohibited the use of the replay phone to transmit any information other than whether to challenge a play. The Yankees did not violate MLB’s rules at the time governing sign stealing.
“At that time, use of the replay room to decode signs was not expressly prohibited by MLB rules as long as the information was not communicated electronically to the dugout. Because rules regarding use of replay had evolved, many clubs moved their video equipment to close proximity to the field, giving personnel the potential ability to quickly relay signs to the field.
“MLB clarified the rules regarding the use of electronic equipment on September 15, 2017. MLB took further action on March 27, 2018 by drawing a clear line and making it explicit to all 30 Clubs that any clubhouse or video room equipment could not be used to decode signs and that fure violations of electronic sign stealing would be subject to serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”
Despite what Major League Baseball said on Tuesday in its statement, it may be important to note that Manfred said in the 2017 letter, “By using the phone in the video review room to instantaneously transmit information regarding signs to the dugout in violation of the Regulations, the Yankees were able to provide real-time information to their players regarding an opposing Club’s sign sequence” and that they were fined for that violation of the regulations.