Then-intern Derek Vigoa came up with the Excel spreadsheet that was the basis of the sign-stealing scheme, a new report says
The Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scheme was based on an Excel spreadsheet algorithm created by an intern, and the team used the system for road games as well as at home, a new report reveals.
In an extensive look into the scandal that cost Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch their jobs, the Wall Street Journal detailed the origins and execution of the plan the Astros front office reportedly referred to as ‘Codebreaker.’
Derek Vigoa, at the time a front office intern but now the Astros’ senior manager for team operations, reportedly devised an Excel-based program to decipher the signs of the opposing catcher and predict which pitch would be thrown next.
A Major League Baseball investigation found that the Astros illegally stole signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Houston won the World Series in 2017.
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow (right) and manager AJ Hinch (left) were each handed one-year suspensions by MLB after the probe was completed on Jan. 13, and both men were fired
Carlos Beltran #15 and Brian McCann #16 of the Houston Astros celebrate on the field after the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series
Although it is legal for a base runner to try to decipher and relay a catcher’s signs, the use of telescopes or electronic aids is explicitly forbidden in the sport.
According to the Journal, the Astros scheme evolved over time. Initially, someone in the team’s video replay room would enter the opposing catcher’s signs into the spreadsheet, as well as the pitches that followed.
The algorithm would quickly decipher the meaning of the catcher’s signs, which would be relayed to the dugout, and then on to a baserunner, who could signal the batter.
Astros players eventually added innovations to streamline the system, such as the notorious trashcan banging in the dugout to directly signal the batter, according to the report.
The front office referred to the scheme as ‘Codrebreaker,’ ‘the dark arts’ or simply ‘the system,’ according to internal communications reviewed by MLB investigators.
Luhnow and Hinch were each handed one-year suspensions by MLB after the probe was completed on January 13, and both men were fired by Astros owner Jim Crane later that day.
According to the Journal, Astros director of advance information Tom Koch-Weser maintained that Luhnow was in the know on the operation, and emails seen by MLB investigators were sent to Luhnow regarding ‘Codebreaker.’
Former Astro Carlos Beltran takes the field before Game 3 of the 2017 World Series. He was fired as the new manager of the New York Mets over the sign-stealing scandal
Alex Cora, the former Astros bench coach, also lost his job as the Boston Red Sox manager over his suspected role in the sign-stealing scandal
Koch-Weser also stated that Luhnow would make comments such as, ‘You guys Codebreaking?’ while visiting the team clubhouse on road trips, but Luhnow denied knowing that the program was being used in-game.
In an August 26, 2017 Koch-Weser wrote to Luhnow: ‘The system: our dark arts, sign-stealing department has been less productive in the second half as the league has become aware of our reputation and now most clubs change their signs a dozen times per game.’
He added that struggling teams like the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics ‘seem not to care as much.’
The former GM said that he thought the sign-stealing was only being done after games to analyze the opposition for future games, which would be legal under baseball rules.
The Journal reported that Astros pro scouting analysis manager Matt Hogan told MLB investigators that staffers wanted Luhnow to know of Codebreaker: ‘It would have been something to show we were working and get validation of our work.’
Per emails seen by MLB investigators, the Astros staffers involved in the scheme referred to their sign-stealing as ‘dark arts.’
The team was cheating in 2017, the year they won the World Series, MLB found. Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch holds the championship trophy after Game 7 in 2017
According to MLB’s report, after Astros staffers cracked an opposing team’s signs during home games, Houston players would bang on a trash can in a tunnel leading to the field to alert batters when an off-speed pitch was coming.
Hinch’s first interview since his firing aired Friday on MLB Network. Speaking with Tom Verducci, Hinch accepted the blame for the sign-stealing, even though MLB’s report had indicated that he was opposed to the scheme. Hinch reportedly smashed TV monitors used in the operation, but he stated that he should have done more to stop the cheating.
‘I hit (the monitor). With a bat. I didn’t like it,’ he said. ‘In hindsight I would have a meeting. I should have had a meeting and addressed it face-forward and really ended it. Leadership to me is often about what you preach. Your pillars of what you believe in. Leadership is also about what you tolerate. And I tolerated too much. And that outburst … I wanted to let people know that I didn’t like it. I should have done more. I should have addressed it more directly.
‘I mean, it’s complicated when you’re talking about a team and all the inner workings of a team, but in reality I just feel like I could have done more looking back, especially feeling like the leader I am in 2019 vs. where I was in 2017 and where I’ve grown. But it’s always easier to look back and wish you could have done more.’
Hinch refused to answer whether Astros players wore buzzers in 2019 to alert them to certain pitches, as was rumored after the scandal broke last month.