Dave Roberts: MLB Found Nothing During Dodgers Sign-Stealing Probe After 2018 Season

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Major League Baseball investigated the team after the 2018 season on allegations of sign stealing but "came up with nothing."

Roberts denied any allegations of past cheating, saying the Dodgers' sign stealing was done only by legal methods, such as signaling a sign to a hitter from the basepaths.

"That's the school of baseball," Roberts told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. "That's gamesmanship. There was never anything illegal about it."

Sign stealing has been an increasingly controversial topic across baseball since an MLB investigation uncovered the Houston Astros used technology to steal signs during their 2017 World Series championship. The investigation led to the Astros being fined $5 million and forfeiting their first- and second-round picks during the 2020 and 2021 drafts.

A book about the Astros' scandal written by reporter Evan Drellich, Winning Fixes Everything, accused the Dodgers of engaging in similar tactics to steal signs. One allegation said the Dodgers set up a camera in center field, giving them real-time access to signs in the dugout.

Roberts vehemently denied the allegations, maintaining the Dodgers only stole signs by legal measures. Sign stealing is not illegal in baseball and has been a time-honored tradition, though rules exist prohibiting the use of technology.

"Sometimes people can't differentiate between a competitive advantage and using your baseball acumen. ... If you can't give good sequences, then that's your problem. And if you can't disguise them well enough, that's on you," Roberts said of legal sign stealing.