As Major League Baseball and the Players Association continue to work out the kinks of the Collective Bargaining Agreement since the lockout ended, more proposals were made by MLB on Saturday. According to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic, MLB made multiple proposals regarding sign stealing which would bring forth stricter guidelines on the common practice.
The first major proposal from MLB is that batters would be prohibited from reviewing scouting cards or any other information during an at-bat, according to Ghiroli. This means hitters wouldn’t be to take any cards or slips of paper with them to the plate, such as placing them in their helmets, pockets, etc.
Another aspect of these latest proposals is that club personnel would not be able to print any scouting information for on-field club personnel during the game. This would go into effect with the first pitch of the game. Nothing would be allowed to be printed and delivered to the dugout during the game. It doesn’t say anything about before a game, but the first proposal would obviously prohibit batters from taking any information onto the field.
The final major proposal that Ghiroli outlined was allowing pitchers and catchers to use wireless PitchCom technology, which they’ve been testing during spring training. It would be on a “completely voluntary basis” according to Ghiroli, but it’s one feature that would be permitted within these restrictions.
Ghiroli said it’s unclear how the MLBPA will respond to these proposals. There’s no reason to believe there’s been any traction on implementing these changes yet.
There have already been multiple changes since the lockout ended, most notably the return of the runner on second in extra innings. MLB and the PA took a long time to come to an initial agreement, and further changes are still being discussed as the MLB regular season nears closer.
