Lovullo Apologizes After MLB Clears Cubs Coach in 7-0 Sign-Stealing Dispute

Q: Why did MLB rule that a coach stealing signs from the box is perfectly legal despite intense player outrage?

MLB ruled it legal because the league’s rule focuses on *where* a base coach is and *how* the information is obtained, not on whether players think it violates baseball etiquette. After Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo checked with MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill, he was told that a first- or third-base coach may relay whatever he can legitimately see as long as he stays inside the coaching box and does not use banned technology or leave the box to get a better angle. That distinction is why the Cubs were cleared. Quintin Berry was believed to be reading Merrill Kelly’s pitch grip or other tells from the third-base box, which MLB considers part of normal gamesmanship if it is done with the naked eye. The league draws its harder line at illegal electronic assistance, cameras, or other prohibited methods, not at a coach noticing visible cues from a legal on-field position. The outrage came from baseball’s unwritten code, not from the written rulebook. Kelly and others on Arizona’s side viewed coach-assisted sign relaying as “bush league,” even while acknowledging that hitters and runners on base have long tried to decode signs. MLB’s view is narrower: if a pitcher is tipping pitches or exposing grips, it is the defending team’s responsibility to fix it. That is why Lovullo ultimately apologized to Craig Counsell and said Arizona, not Chicago, needed to address Kelly’s pitch-tipping.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 26

MLB told Arizona that Cubs third-base coach Quintin Berry broke no rules during Monday’s 7-0 Chicago win, prompting Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo to call Craig Counsell and apologize.
The fifth-inning flare-up began when Arizona believed Berry was reading Merrill Kelly’s signs and relaying them from the coaching box, triggering a shouting match between the dugouts.
Lovullo said the league clarified that first- and third-base coaches may do "whatever they want" as long as they stay inside their coaching boxes, leaving Arizona "wrong" on the rule.
Kelly had called coach-assisted sign relaying "bush league," while Counsell said he appreciated Lovullo’s gesture; Lovullo linked the confrontation to late-season intensity with both clubs chasing playoff spots.
The episode underscored baseball’s long-standing distinction between legal on-field sign stealing and illegal real-time video-assisted schemes such as the Astros scandal.