Report: MLB recording dugout phone conversations to eliminate sign stealing

Major League Baseball will reportedly implement new mechanisms for the 2018 season in an effort to prevent teams from using technology to steal signs.

The league is installing new dugout phones that are equipped with recording devices allowing all discussions to be monitored, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The controversy over using new tools to steal signs came to a head last season when the New York Yankees filed a complaint claiming that a member of the Boston Red Sox training staff was relaying information from the video room to the players using an Apple Watch. MLB eventually fined the Red Sox an undisclosed amount.

Sign-stealing has always been a part of baseball, but the league is specifically hoping to crack down on using high-tech aids to decode signs. Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander expressed his concern about the evolution of sign-stealing in June while he was still with the Detroit Tigers.

"It's not about gamesmanship anymore. It used to be: 'Hey, if you can get my signs, good for you.' In the past, if a guy on second (base) was able to decipher it on a few pitches, I guess that was kind of part of the game," Justin Verlander said. "I think it's a different level now. It's not good."