Rays broadcaster, ace Glasnow imply Blue Jays may have been stealing signs

Tampa Bay Rays ace Tyler Glasnow has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far this season, but the Toronto Blue Jays roughed him up for five runs over 4.2 innings on Friday.

Struggles like that haven't come around often for the flame-throwing right-hander, and Rays broadcaster Brian Anderson thinks the Blue Jays might have known what pitches were coming, which led to the clobbering.

“All I know is I’ve watched enough of these games, and you understand Glasnow’s stuff, and I’ve seen enough to know something was wrong,” Anderson said via the Tampa Bay Times. “I don’t know if it was from Tyler’s end or from the Blue Jays’ end, but something was in play. It didn’t look right. It didn’t feel right. Something was off.”

#Rays TV analyst Brian Anderson said “something was amiss” in Glasnow’s last start Friday, that either he was tipping pitches or the #BlueJays were getting the signs. Glasnow admitted it was “weird” - and said he wasn’t tipping. Hmm ...

https://t.co/qycozX7TSL

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 26, 2021

Perhaps Glasnow was tipping his pitches, but the 27-year-old did not believe that was the case, and neither did manager Kevin Cash.

“There was some weird stuff just like the takes and the swings and stuff," said Glasnow. That’s probably a better question for them. … I don’t think I was doing anything, but there could have been some other stuff there.”

It wasn't the first time Toronto teed off on the Cy Young candidate, as they also touched him up for a five-spot on April 23. He hasn't given up more than three earned runs in any other start this season and carries a 2.90 ERA on the campaign.

If the Blue Jays were in fact stealing Glasnow's signs, it does not necessarily mean they were cheating. Baserunners can often pick up from the catcher what a pitcher is about to throw, then relay the information to the batter at the plate. If a pitcher and catcher believe this is happening, they can switch their signs on the fly to counteract the advantage the offence is gaining.

Toronto was at the centre of an alleged sign-stealing scandal over a decade ago, when the franchise was accused of positioning a "man in white" in the outfield seats at Rogers Centre to pick up signs from the opposing pitcher.

Even if the Blue Jays did ultimately steal Glasnow's signs on Friday, they still came up short on the final scoreboard, falling 9-7 in extra innings as part of a four-game weekend sweep at the hands of the Rays.

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