"Base coaches in Major League Baseball will have to remain in their respective coach's boxes until the pitch is thrown after owners voted to enforce the rule Thursday at their annual meetings in Florida. The goal is to curb coaches' ability to ascertain what pitch is coming via pitch tipping -- a practice that has become more prevalent over the last few years. MLB's joint competition committee recently agreed to the move before owners voted on it."
"Based on pregame homework, coaches are able to figure out what pitch is about to be thrown and then either relay that to the hitter directly or indirectly via a runner on second base. The issue came to a head before Game 7 of the World Series last year when both the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers were asked to keep their coaches in their boxes. Now, it will be enforced league-wide by umpires."
""It doesn't surprise me," Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz said of MLB cracking down. "When you can control it with the coaches staying in the box, let's stick to that. If it can minimize it a little, it would be welcome." Teams scour video before games in order to pick up the smallest patterns by pitchers or even catchers that indicate what kind of pitch is coming."
Owners approved a rule requiring base coaches to remain inside their coach's boxes until the pitch is thrown. The rule aims to curb pitch tipping by limiting coaches' ability to obtain better pitching angles and relay pitch information. MLB's joint competition committee recommended the change after coaches began moving up and down the line to gain viewing advantages. Teams use pregame video scouting to detect pitcher and catcher patterns and relay pitch information to hitters or runners. Umpires will enforce the rule league-wide after incidents in the previous World Series prompted temporary enforcement. Sign-stealing from catchers largely shifted to pitch identification due to PitchCom.
Read at ESPN.com
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