The Houston Astros are being accused of cheating after an employee was found apparently video taping the Red Sox dugout. The incident took place during Houston's 7-2 win in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park. The Boston Metro, which first reported the story, learned that Major League Baseball was handling the spying attempt internally. ESPN reported the Astros had an employee go to the photographer's pit next the Sox dugout to check on whether Boston was "doing anything outside the rules." The employee was removed by security.<doc-sep>It wouldn’t be baseball in October without one of the game’s annual rituals: Social-media sleuths deciding that a Major League Baseball player is cheating in the postseason. This time it’s Boston Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes, who was one of the relievers the Red Sox called on to secure their win Sunday night in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros. Videos have been circulating that allege there’s a foreign substance on Barnes’ arm that many believe to be pine tar. A pitcher cheating in the postseason? It’s type of sexy headline that the sites like Breitbart will pick up and will have someone at Barstool Sports screaming that Barnes needs to be punished. Here’s the video: Does it look like pine tar? Yeah, could be. Pine tar or otherwise, is there a good chance that Barnes is putting a foreign substance on the ball? Sure. Here’s the big question: Is that “cheating” and should Barnes be punished? That’s far more complex and calls into question how the game governs itself and how closely baseball follows its own rules in 2018. And before we dig into it, we all need to understand a few things: 1. This is MLB’s rule as it pertains to doctoring the ball: “No player is permitted to intentionally damage, deface or discolor the baseball by rubbing it with any type of foreign item or substance, including dirt or saliva. Failure to follow this rule will result in an ejection and an automatic 10-game suspension.” Story continues Seems pretty straightforward. What we’ve long considered the spitball or putting Vaseline on a ball like Gaylord Perry, that’s against the rules and cause for ejection and suspension. Which brings us to the next thing you need to know. And hold on to your retweet button, Twitter detectives. 2. Pitchers doctoring the ball happens all the time. Like every day. And nobody cares. You can see how these two ideas might be at odds. The rules say one thing, but in the actual baseball games that happen 162 times per year, something very different occurs. Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes was accused of doctoring the ball by Twitter detectives. (Getty Images) Here’s the truth: Baseball is long past the spitball and Vaseline era. The modern game accepts that pitchers use foreign substances to get a better grip on the ball. (Most of the time, they use a sticky substance made from sunscreen and rosin). Hitters accept it because it means there’s less chance of an errant 95 mph fastball flying at their face. Managers don’t complain because — guess what — their pitchers are doing it too. In fact, the only way this becomes an issue anymore is if a manager complains to an umpire, who then has to go check whether a pitcher is using a foreign substance, which they probably are. Umpires don’t look for this unless a manager asks. This is how Michael Pineda got caught a few years ago and was suspended. Even though, again, it happens all the time. Baseball governs itself on this matter. If you’re doing it and not causing too much attention, nobody cares. If someone like Pineda goes too far, the occasional opposing manager has to check him. One thing that doesn’t happen is a Twitter mob causing such a commotion that baseball changes its norms. When asked about the video making the rounds Monday, Astros manager A.J. Hinch — whose team, remember, is the supposed victim in this — took a hardline stance. Just in the opposite direction you might be expecting. “Honestly it’s not even something that’s crossed my mind,” Hinch told reporters. “There’s so much difference between doctoring a ball versus kind of what goes on nowadays. And we’re living by the rules in which we live by.” There’s another good reason the Astros might not want to crow about this too much. Because they’ve also been accused of doctoring baseballs to get more spin on them. Those accusations came earlier this year from Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer, one of the few people in baseball who is adamantly against pitchers using foreign substances to get a better grip. He started a Twitter fight with the Astros this spring about the idea, and often tweets about it, including in the aftermath of the Barnes video circulating. Because we have hard data now showing that it’s a massive performance enhancer. And it’s technically illegal. Meaning the players who choose to play by the rules are at a massive competitive disadvantage and could be suspended if they choose to use it. — Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) October 15, 2018 Take away Bauer and you’ll find plenty of baseball players, hitters included, who aren’t upset about this entire idea. Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller talked to a number of MLB stars about it earlier this year and they almost sounded like a broken record. This is what Bryce Harper said: “I’m all in favor of it. If there’s a guy out there that needs it, I’m all for it. I don’t want to get hit in the head or the face. So whatever they need out there, I’ll let them have it.” This is what Mike Trout said: “Obviously, you want a pitcher to have control of the ball. You don’t want a ball up and in when everybody’s throwing 100 nowadays. There’s mixed feelings, obviously, throughout the clubhouse and throughout baseball with this. For me, it’s a different feeling when you’re in the box and you know the pitcher doesn’t know where [the ball] is going, as opposed to if a guy knows where it’s going.” This is what Adam Jones said: “I use pine tar on my bat so the bat doesn’t slip out of my hands. So a pitcher can use pine tar on the ball so it doesn’t hit me in the face.” The reason this seems to become a bigger deal in the postseason is that there are more eyes on every game, since they’re all on national TV and eager fans are examining every single move. If you recall, there was a controversy about this during the 2013 World Series and fans wondering last year about Dodgers pitchers having pine tar on their hats. So it’s nothing even close to new. Let’s go back then to the original question: Is this “cheating” and should Matt Barnes be punished? If we’re following the letter of the law, then yes, probably. But if we’re following baseball norms in 2018, the answer is much different. 1. Is Matt Barnes cheating? Not really, just breaking rules that are broken every day. 2. Should he be punished? No, not unless he decides to walk out in Game 3 of the ALCS and yells “Hey, everyone, I’m putting pine tar on the baseball” through a megaphone while he puts pine tar on the baseball. For baseball in 2018, that might be too egregious. – – – – – – Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! More from Yahoo Sports: • Boston fans douse Chiefs star in beer after TD • After loss, all Raiders star wants is to ‘make babies’ • Fan shouts ‘Vote Republican’ during anthem at NFL game • Chiefs star blames NFL rule for Brady’s clutch TD run<doc-sep>The camera was not kind to the Red Sox on Sunday night. During Game 2 of Boston’s ALCS matchup against the Houston Astros, Twitter blew up as the cameras caught Red Sox pitchers using pine tar. As Boston pitcher Matt Barnes was dealing to Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, a fan pointed out how Barnes was cheating by keeping pine tar on his left forearm. Watch: Just in case it’s too fast for some pic.twitter.com/0fHZ3uoEDN — Adam — HSA Legacy Group (@AdamVtte7) October 15, 2018 While this instance isn’t the first time pine tar has made an appearance on the diamond, it is still illegal. Though, umpires tend to let it go unless the pitcher is way too obvious about it. Such as Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda, who was ejected from a game in 2014 for having a large clump of pine tar on his neck. Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn<doc-sep>
In a statement, Major League Baseball dispelled the cheating allegations raised against the Astros during the 2018 postseason. Major League Baseball released an official statement on Wednesday addressing concerns of cheating by stating that the matter was raised to the league commissioner's office by several teams before the season even began. "The concerns expressed related to a number of Clubs, not any one specific Club," MLB said the statement. "In response to these calls, the Commissioner's Office reinforced the existing rules with all playoff Clubs and undertook proactive measures, including instituing a new prohibition on the use of certain in-stadium cameras, increasing the presence of operations and security personnel from Major League Baseball at all Postseason games and instituting a program of monitoring Club video rooms. (sic)" The statement also specifically addressed cheating allegations raised against Astros in a report by the the Boston Metro Times during Game 1 of the ALCS vs. the Red Sox. MLB Network's Joel Sherman reported that the league does not consider it to be a major matter. Wednesday's statement reaffirmed the notion following a "thorough investigation." "We consider the matter closed," MLB said Wedndesday. On Tuesday, a the Metro Times revealed that security at Fenway Park removed a man who claimed to be an Astros employee from an area designated for credentialed media next to the Red Sox' dugout during the third inning of Game 1. Per the report, the man had a small camera and was texting frequently. MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney offered the Metro Times a statement via email, which said, "We are aware of the matter and it will be handled internally." Sherman reported that the man involved in the incident was an Astros employee, but additionally reported that he had been monitoring the dugout to see if Boston was improperly using a video monitor. Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported Tuesday night after ALCS Game 3 that the Red Sox were warned by the Indians, whom the Astros swept during the ALDS, that Houston would attempt to steal signs and information. In his report, Passan also identified the man removed from Game 1 as Kyle McLaughlin. He's not listed as an official Astros employee, however, his Instagram account features photos of him wearing an Astros ID badge and standing next to a team-owned private plane. Per Passan, MLB "significantly beefed up" security during Tuesday's contest. He also notes that the allegations raised against Houston are not the first to be brought up this season; in August, the Athletics called MLB to investigate the matter, however, the results of it are unclear. Additionally, NBC Sports Boston's Evan Drellich reported that a similar incident in which the Astros attempted to gain information on their opponent occurred when they faced the Indians during the ALDS. Cleveland.com reports that the Indians have filed a complaint to MLB about Houston attempting to film inside their dugout. Neither the Red Sox or Astros provided further comments regarding the situation. Boston won Tuesday's Game 3, 8-2, to take a 2-1 series lead.