Former Blue Jays manager compares Twins to cheating Astros for exploiting PitchCom in pick-off

In a series-winning game for Sonny Gray and the Minnesota Twins, Gray picked off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at second base to not only remove him from scoring position but also close an inning and stunt any momentum the Toronto Blue Jays had toward advancing in the MLB postseason.

The play happened with the Blue Jays inhabiting second and third base, and it lowered their win probability by 8.5 percent, not insignificant in the top of the fifth inning. The Blue Jays would not score another run in the game.

Pick-offs, in general, are a risker play under the revised MLB rulebook in 2023 that only allows two disengagements per at-bat from the pitcher. If you fail one pick-off attempt, your second more or less must be flawless, because the runner knows after that point you can not make a move without being penalized with a balk. Strategically, the first disengagement is the most important.

Sonny Gray explained after the game that Carlos Correa used PitchCom to help communicate the opportunity, and it was executed flawlessly.

Former Blue Jays manager has the worst take ever on Blue Jays weaponizing PitchCom

John Gibbons, former Blue Jays manager from 2004-2008 and 2013-2018, Tweeted his displeasure of the Twins admitting they used PitchCom to time the pickoff and catch Guerrero off-base. He said the Houston Astros infamous sign-stealing scandal -- which used illegal real-time video to steal signs -- should be exonerated because the Twins used technology to time a throw.

Technically, the Twins used tech to get this play done, but what a massive leap of logic from Gibbons.

Using sanctioned and approved technology -- technology that is literally, by design, for teams to communicate pitches and fielding without the use of signs -- for its intended purpose is vastly different than the Astros using technology for an unsanctioned purpose.

A truly masterful play and great awareness from Correa, who not only triggered the PitchCom, but also made a great play to secure the tag. The Blue Jays got got. That's all this was.

This very play had the second-biggest shift in negative win percentage for the Blue Jays, second only to a double play that got the Twins out of a bases-loaded jam the very next inning.

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