Astros Manager AJ Hinch Thinks Worries About Pitch-Tipping Are 'Kind of Funny'

Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch is amused at concerns about his team benefitting from the opposition tipping their pitches in this postseason.

"I think it's kind of funny," Hinch said, per ESPN.com.

The ESPN report explained there has been "chatter" that Houston was able to discern pitch tipping from Tampa Bay Rays starter Tyler Glasnow and New York Yankees starters James Paxton and Luis Severino. However, strictly discovering patterns and tells from the opposing pitcher is not against MLB rules.

"If they don't want to tip their pitches, then they should take consideration into doing the same thing over and over again," Hinch said.

This has been a theme throughout the playoffs when it comes to Houston.

According to ESPN, television cameras captured Alex Bregman telling the Astros' dugout "glove" after drawing a walk from Paxton in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.

What's more, Danny Vietti of CBS Sports shared video of Bregman telling teammate Carlos Correa how to tell the difference between a fastball and curveball during the American League Division Series against Glasnow:

Severino struggled in the first inning of Game 3 in the series between the Astros and Yankees, and Alex Rodriguez suggested pitch tipping could be a factor:

It hasn't gone unnoticed by the opposition, either.

Glasnow said as much following his team's Game 5 loss to the Astros in the ALDS, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times: "When I came in and checked my phone there were a lot of people asking me about it. I went and looked (at the video) and it was pretty obvious. It's something that I've done in the past, and some starts it's worse than others. Today it was relatively obvious."

Former MLB players Preston Wilson, Kevin Frandsen and Trevor Plouffe all recognized Glasnow was tipping pitches during the game:

That Houston is involved makes it all the more notable.

The ESPN report explained this comes "a year after suspicions on sign stealing made headlines when a man associated with the Astros was caught pointing a cellphone into opposing dugouts" during games against the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians.