PHILADELPHIA — The accusations of sign-stealing at Citizens Bank Park by the Phillies that resurfaced during the World Series yesterday are nothing new to the Mets.
The Mets were so convinced in 2007 that the Phillies were using a center-field camera to steal signs they complained to Major League Baseball, whose subsequent investigation was deemed inconclusive.
Without specifically saying so, the Yankees revived the accusations in their Game 4 victory Sunday by meeting frequently at the mound and having catcher Jorge Posada flash multiple signs even when no runners were on base.
And when ex-Phillies manager Larry Bowa reportedly said on Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic that the Phillies were good at stealing signs, his former team — specifically center fielder Shane Victorino — had heard quite enough.
Victorino erupted before Game 5 here last night when told Bowa had said the Phillies had a reputation for stealing signs, calling the allegations “weak.” “I guess he knows something that I don’t know about, obviously,” Victorino said. “You know, everybody makes excuses. Everybody is going to find a reason. For Bowa to come out and say something like that if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, if he doesn’t have cold, hard facts, he shouldn’t say something like that.
“To me that’s — I don’t want to use the word I’m going to use, but it’s just not something that should be said. For you to pop off like that, I’m not happy.”
Bowa’s reported comments were not known when his Phillies managerial successor, Charlie Manuel, held his regularly scheduled pregame news conference.
But Victorino spoke angrily and extensively about the charges, assuming the mantle for his teammates by labeling the widespread belief about the Phillies to be out of line.
As proof, Victorino pointed to the Phillies’ losses in their first two World Series games here this year.
“Obviously if we’re stealing signs we would be doing better than what we’re doing right now,” said Victorino, whose 2005 arrival with the Phillies came a year after Bowa’s firing by Philadelphia.
Victorino insisted the Phillies always played by the rules. ”
Hey, you know what? We play between the lines, and that’s what it’s about,” Victorino said. “Don’t talk about what has happened or what you know. If you know for a fact that we’re stealing signs, then that’s a different story.”
Stealing signs is considered an art in baseball, and it has a long history in the game. Arguably the most famous example came in 1951, when the New York Giants allegedly made an elaborate process of stealing signs at home during their pennant race with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Despite stealing signs being considered an art, Victorino didn’t see it as a compliment.
“I guess I’m not smart enough to steal signs, so obviously it’s not working for me,” he said. “I guess if it’s an art, it’s an art, but for a guy to pop off like that and say that’s why we’re not successful right now, that’s what I’m trying to get at.”