Martinez is wary of MLB going too far in trying to stop teams from using video to steal signsGETTY IMAGES
Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez "understands the reactionary nature" of MLB's potential ban on in-game clubhouse video amid the Astros' cheating scandal but "disagrees with the removal" of it, according to Tom Verducci of SI.com. Martinez said, "To me it's overkill. The message has been sent. People are losing jobs. It's like the steroid thing. You do that and there's a punishment. Steroids are still out there." He said that the league's answer can be found in "tighter protocols on the video loggers who record every pitch," and he recommends a "requirement that loggers cannot press record until after the catcher gives the signs." MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has "promised new protocols will be in place before Opening Day that gives players less access to live video in games." But Martinez said of Manfred's plan, "To me it's not the fix. I think it's the Band-Aid." Meanwhile, Verducci wrote the "issue with the ban on in-game video is that, over the past half-decade, a generation of hitters has grown to depend on it." Martinez said, "There is a new generation that revolves around technology and analytics and seeing their swing" (SI.com, 3/5).
TECHNOLOGY QUANDARY: ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said MLB cannot "go back to the 1940s" by banning all video, and "this strikes me as an overreaction." Kornheiser: "If you take out all video, that hurts the game." ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, "It strikes me as baseball running scared and nothing is really as ugly as an entire sport running scared if we are to believe their own investigation." Kornheiser: "You can't take away stuff that made baseball better" ("PTI," ESPN, 3/5). THE ATHLETIC's Andy McCullough noted Dodgers SS Corey Seager in between innings "often departs his dugout and parks himself in front of a video monitor" and "opens a program called BATS, which MLB has authorized players to use during games" so he can watch footage of both at-bats and his defensive positioning. Seager "considers this practice a vital part of his production." He said it would be "an overcorrection" if Manfred barred all in-game video. MLB is "unlikely to crack down on low-risk technology, like the pre-programmed iPads that players consult during games." The devices exist on "permanent airplane mode, unable to connect to WiFi or be updated during games." A "knottier issue" involves deciding "how to police the in-game video system without banning it completely" (THEATHLETIC.com, 3/5).
FACE THE CONSEQUENCES: In N.Y., Kristie Ackert noted the Yankees on Wednesday had a "heated" discussion with MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark over the fact that "no Astros players were punished and that now all of baseball is paying for it." Yankees P and club union rep Zack Britton said, "The stance of the guys pretty much in here is more frustration with the MLB in the Commissioner's Office on the handling of that. ... There's not a lot of transparency there on our side. So I think the frustration lies with some of the issues with the teams filing complaints three or four years ago, and nothing being done" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/5).
