Baez confronts LeMahieu at 2B for stealing signs, blocks view to plate

Javier Baez believed he caught DJ LeMahieu stealing signs during Sunday's game, and came up with a creative way to try to stop it.

During the bottom of the third inning between the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies, Baez was manning his position at shortstop while LeMahieu was standing at second base. Baez believed he witnessed LeMahieu relaying signs to Nolan Arenado at the plate and stepped in front of the Rockies infielder to block his view.

The two ended up exchanging words before umpire Vic Carapazza had to intervene.

"I don't know if it was the pitch or the location, but they were doing something," Baez said, according to Owen Perkins of MLB.com. "I'm 100 percent sure.

"We got to protect our team, our pitchers. This game is hard enough. If they're going to do it, don't do it to our face, because we're going to do something about it."

LeMahieu denied he was relaying signs to the hitter and believed Baez's actions were unnecessary.

"We have a good hitting team," LeMahieu said. "Teams think we are stealing signs all the time. We don't steal signs because no one in our lineup wants them. Their (shortstop) was trying to make a big deal out of nothing."

Arenado would strike out on the play, and Baez claimed his prevention played a part in the result.

"Right after the strikeout, I turned to the outfield and said, 'You see the difference when they don't know the signs,'" Baez said, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. "And then (LeMahieu) told me, 'Then change the signs.' Why you telling me? You're telling me to my face that you're giving the signs? Come on, man. I don't know, man, I'm really mad about it."

The Cubs would win the game 9-7, taking two of three in the series.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)