Why/How is ‘sign stealing’ cheating in MLB?

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I keep hearing about the Astros and how they were cheating by stealing the signs/hand gestures from other teams. What I don’t get is how it’s cheating. If the catcher throws down a 1 and I know that means fastball, how would I be in the wrong if I rely that info to the batter?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

The rules of a game do not need to have any underlying moral structure. Rules are what they are because that’s what makes the game a game.

There is no law against having 30 people in the outfield of a baseball game. There is a rule in baseball about the number of players that you can have on the field. But there’s no moral underpinning of that rule. The rule “just is”. It exists because without it the game element of a baseball game would be ruined by people cramming the outfield with players thereby almost ensuring that every hit is caught by someone.

The rules of baseball say that it’s no OK to take steps to figure out what the other teams signs are. It’s just not, there’s no moral underpinning why this is the case it’s just that’s the rule because without that rule part of the fun of a game of baseball would be lost.

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