Attempting to steal signs has always been a big part of baseball because of the advantages it gives a team, even if it’s frowned upon or considered by some to be against the rules.
But can stealing signs also give you an advantage as a sports bettor?
In this article, I’ll explain further why teams use signs, how stealing signs can be an advantage, how to steal those signs, and if there are ways you can use sign-stealing yourself to win more baseball bets.
Of all the team sports out there, baseball is considered by many to be the most individual. After all, most of the game is waged between two main combatants: the pitcher and the hitter.
While that may be true, there are still a lot of team elements to baseball that require all the players on a squad to be on the same page. And since yelling plays to your teammates enables the opposition to know what you’re planning to do, baseball teams have to depend on signs in order to communicate.
and catcher, making sure that both know
which pitch is to be thrown next and which location it should be.
This allows the catcher to “call the game” by suggesting or even demanding what pitch should be thrown in a certain situation, and it also prepares the catcher for the potential of the ball to curve or bounce on its way to the plate.
On many teams, the catcher is the “middleman” between the manager and the pitcher, giving the manager the ability to call the game from the dugout.
In addition to telling his pitcher and catcher which pitch is to be thrown, a manager may also sign for a pitchout (intentionally pitching the ball out of the strike zone when he suspects the opposition may attempt to steal a base) or a pick-off attempt to keep runners close to their base.
Teams that are at bat also use signs, especially when runners are on base.
Managers send signs to the third-base coach, who then uses signs to inform the hitter and base runners if there are any plays to be run on the next pitch.
Common plays that are signaled by the offense include bunts, stolen bases, and hit-and-runs (when the runner breaks for the next base as soon as a pitch is delivered, and the hitter needs to put the ball in play to protect him from being thrown out).
When nobody’s on base, catchers can use a pretty basic way of sending out signs. The only plays that are being called in this situation are which type of pitch to throw and where to throw it, and with the hitter looking out at the pitcher, he’s not going to be able to see what the catcher is calling.
Traditionally, one finger is used to call for a fastball, while two, three, or four fingers are used to call for off-speed pitches such as curve balls, sliders, and change-ups.
And if the catcher wants to signal where the pitch is to be thrown, he can tap the inside of whichever leg is on the side of the plate he wants the pitch thrown, or even use his glove to identify the target.
When there are runners on base, however, everything changes drastically, and it becomes much more difficult to know what signs mean what. Knowing that the opposition will be looking to see their signs, catchers will go through a variety of signs, many of which are meaningless.
an “indicator” sign, such as a touch to the chest or a rub of the dirt.
Third-base coaches’ signs are even more complex, since their signs are viewable by everybody in the stadium. In one series of signs, a coach may touch his hat, chin, arm, thigh, chest, ears, and waist, with only one of those signs meaning something.
It may matter which hand he uses to touch which part of his body, or it may be as simple as none of the signs mean anything and that the play is communicated through a series of claps that ends the signs.
Whether it’s the offense or defense sending signs, both walk a bit of a fine line. They want to make sure their signs are not too obvious and easy for the opponent to steal, but they also need the signs to be simple enough for their teammates to understand.
If a pitcher does not properly understand what pitch is to be thrown, it can result in a wild pitch or passed ball. If a hitter doesn’t know that a hit-and-run has been called, he won’t swing at the next pitch, and the runner will probably be easily thrown out.
Knowing what your opponent is attempting to do on the next pitch is a huge advantage in baseball, especially for a hitter.
Hitting is all about timing, so if a hitter knows for certain that a fastball is coming, he won’t have to worry at all about staying back on an off-speed pitch and won’t swing late on a heater.
If he knows a curve ball is on its way, he’ll be able to time the slower pitch better, won’t give up on a pitch if it starts out of the strike zone, and won’t chase a pitch if it starts in the strike zone before dropping out of it. Knowing the location is also a big help for a hitter, since he can prepare to swing in a certain area of the strike zone.
Base runners also benefit from stealing signs. For example, they’ll avoid trying to steal a base when they can tell that a pitchout has been called.
Or they’ll look to steal a base when a slower pitch like a curveball or slider is called, knowing that the catcher will have less time to throw them out or that the pitch may even bounce in the dirt.
Defensively, teams who know a stolen base attempt or hit-and-run are coming can use a pitchout to easily cut down the runner. They also won’t be as vulnerable to a bunt attempt if the fielders are able to charge towards the plate as soon as the pitch is thrown.
Nowhere in the rulebook does it say that players are not allowed to steal signs from the opposition, and many players actually consider it to be part of the game.
However, there are rules about how you attempt to steal an opponent’s signs and how you communicate that information. The use of binoculars to see the other team’s signs is not allowed, and neither is the use of electronic communications.
That rules out doing things like using lights on the scoreboard (the White Sox were believed to do this in the 1980s) or even an Apple Watch (as the Red Sox were accused of doing in 2017) to transfer information gained through stolen signs.
There are also many who feel that stealing signs is a breach of baseball’s “unwritten rules,” an unspoken etiquette that governs the way some play or watch the game.
Just like some people feel you should never steal a base when you’re winning by 10 runs or that you should never bunt when the opposing pitcher is throwing a no-hitter, there are those who believe sign stealing is unsportsmanlike.
Whether you’re a player or a fan, the only way to steal signs in baseball is by paying close attention to the people sending the signs. If you see a pattern between a certain sign being called and what happens on the next pitch, you’ve probably figured out that team’s signs.
you can plainly see what the catcher is signaling.
That’s why most catchers change their signs when an opposing runner gets to second base, knowing that the signs are easier to steal and that the runner may be able to communicate to the hitter what pitch is coming next.
Signals by the third-base coach are pretty much something that only people in attendance at a game can see, since those coaches are rarely shown on TV. If you’re sitting in the stands and have a good view of the third-base coach (or have a set of binoculars), you might be able to detect a pattern in the signs that are flashed and the plays that follow next.
With so many people sitting in each dugout who aren’t actually participating in the game (whether they’re back-ups, starting pitchers who aren’t pitching that day, coaches, or trainers), most teams have several people trying to steal the opposition’s signs every game.
To be honest, while some players have developed a reputation for being excellent sign-stealers (former catcher Gregg Zaun said Alex Rodriguez was the best he’s ever seen at it), it’s generally difficult for even the most veteran of baseball players to steal signs.
And as soon as the opposition is aware that a team has figured out its signs, it will immediately switch to a new series of signals (and may even buzz one of the other team’s players with an inside fastball near the helmet as retaliation).
Theoretically, if you as a baseball bettor are able to pick up on a team’s signs, there are ways that it could help you win more bets.
If a betting site is offering live betting odds on whether a stolen base will happen during an at-bat, you’d be at a pretty big advantage if you could tell by the third-base coach’s signs that they’re planning to attempt a steal.
If there’s a good fastball hitter at the plate and you can tell that a fastball will be thrown on the next pitch, betting on that hitter getting a base hit would be a smart wager.
Unfortunately, there are only a few seconds between these signs being flashed and the pitch being thrown. That’s not enough time to get a bet in, especially with how betting sites utilize a delay of several seconds in live wagering before those bets are accepted.
If you’re attending the game in person and are able to place these bets in real time instead of being subject to the delay that live TV broadcasts are subject to, you might have a chance to get a live bet through.
(The delay that live TV broadcasts have is why court-siding is such an effective approach in tennis live betting). But generally speaking, even if you’re able to tell what play or pitch is coming next, it’s going to be really hard to take advantage of as a bettor.
There is a case, however, where stealing signs can help you make more money – and it doesn’t even require you stealing the signs yourself.
If you can tell that a team has been able to figure out what the opposition’s next pitch or play is going to be, the team who has stolen the signs is going to be at an advantage until the team whose signs have been stolen figures it out.
Pay attention to the broadcast and see how comfortable a team’s hitters look at the plate against a pitcher.
Are they laying off tough breaking balls that you’d ordinarily expect them to swing at? Are they always geared up for the fastball and never early on the off-speed stuff?These are indications that a team might know what’s coming. So is when a team calls a pitchout at the exact time that their opponent is attempting a steal.
There’s a reason that every team tries to steal the opposition’s signs. Knowing what pitch is coming is a huge advantage in baseball, and so is knowing when the other team is going to try to steal a base or bunt.
However, stealing signs is very difficult to do for the average fan. It requires you to pay so much attention to the catcher (and the coaches, if you’re able to see them) that you’re probably missing out on noticing other things in the game that would be more helpful in live betting.
Even if you’re able to figure out the signs yourself, there’s not much benefit to you as a bettor. The ways for you to take advantage of the extra information are limited, and any live betting wagers you try to place before the next pitch might not even go through in time.
There’s no DOWNSIDE here, though. Studying the signs may not help you improve much as a bettor, but it might shake up the way you watch games and let you have a little extra fun.
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