This archive report was first published on 23 April 2020.
On Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox narrowly escaped sweeping penalties in baseball's second sign-stealing investigation of the year.
Commissioner Rob Manfred determined that the team cheated, but their conduct in 2018 was 'far more limited in scope and impact' compared to the 2017 Houston Astros, whose sign-stealing scandal rocked the sport earlier this year.
As a result, the Red Sox will forfeit their second-round choice in the 2020 draft.
Manfred disciplined only one person involved, J.T. Watkins, the team's video replay operator, who is suspended without pay for the season and barred from running the replay room in 2021.
Watkins was accused of decoding signs by reviewing video of prior games and conveying that information in scouting meetings before games, a practice that is legal and widely accepted in baseball.
However, Watkins was found to have sometimes updated players during games based on signs he had decoded while watching live video, which is illegal.
Manfred's investigation, which reviewed thousands of emails, text messages, photos, and video clips, as well as interviewed 65 people, including 34 current and former Red Sox players, found no indication that the activity took place during the 2018 postseason.
Manfred stated that while players were granted immunity in exchange for their compliance, 'this is not a case in which I would have otherwise considered imposing discipline on players.'
