Yankees' 2017 Letter from MLB Detailing Sign-Stealing Allegations to Be Made Public

A letter from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to the New York Yankees about the team's alleged sign-stealing in 2017 is set to become public, according to ESPN's Joon Lee.

In 2020, a federal judge ruled the letter should be unsealed, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic, as part of a lawsuit against the league by daily fantasy sports contestants.

It will be at least two weeks before the letter becomes public, per Lee.

The Yankees were fined in 2017 for improperly using a dugout phone in a previous season, and the Boston Red Sox were fined at the same for illegally using electronics to steal signs.

Andy Martino of SNY reported in 2020 that a member of the Yankees called the replay room to ask if a specific pitch was a ball or strike.

The New York Times had reported in 2017 that the Red Sox used an Apple Watch and video cameras to decode catchers' signs to pitchers.

The daily fantasy lawsuit came after the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, which was significantly more elaborate, with players being relayed pitch information via bangs on a trash can.

The Yankees worked to avoid public disclosure of the letter, which reportedly provided details of their violation. The team argued in court that it would cause "significant reputational injury," per Drellich.

Yankees president Randy Levine said in 2020 that it would cause "serious" privacy issues to release the letter, per Lee.

The court disputed the team's argument.

"Disclosure of the document will allow the public to independently assess MLB's conclusion regarding the internal investigation (as articulated to the Yankees) and the Yankees are fully capable of disseminating their own views regarding the actual content of the Yankees letter," the court stated.