Yankees sign-stealing letter revealed: Everything we know

The Yankees sign-stealing letter from the MLB to New York GM Brian Cashman was revealed in full by SNY after a battle to keep it sealed.

The lingering controversy over sign stealing in MLB may finally wind down, at least in New York.

Despite efforts by the Yankees to seal it, a letter sent from MLB to the franchise over allegations of sign-stealing from the Red Sox was finally unveiled on Tuesday.

And it’s a whole lot of nothing.

Yankees sign stealing letter revealed

Basically, the Yankees were found guilty of using their replay room in 2015 and 2016 to decode sign sequences and then relay them to runners on base, who would signal the batter. But that’s far away from what the Astros were hit for, which involved real-time sign-stealing delivered directly to the batter.

New York was fined $100,000 for their violation, which is new information.

However, the Yankees were cleared of using YES Network cameras in a sign-stealing scheme and it did not suggest any sign-stealing from after September 2017.

Here’s the text of the letter to Cashman from SNY:

"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."

Now that the letter is out, the mystery of the scandal has been removed. It’s hard to imagine this will extend much further.