If the MLB put out a memo telling teams not to use electronic means to steal signs before the Astros embarked on their scheme and the Astros did it anyway, than I don't have much sympathy for them. I just think there's no getting around the fact that whether you're doing it on the field, whether you're doing it with binoculars in the stands, or whether you're using a camera, you're doing the exact same thing. You're observing something that's taking place in plain view in front of tens of thousands of people and trying to detect a pattern. You're not hacking into a private trove of information or into some sort of secure communication just because you're using a camera. What you're recording is taking place on the playing field in front of everyone. If the rules allow for one form of sign stealing and not another, I don't think they're consistent and should be changed (they both should be outlawed).

What's more, rank and file baseball people don't seem to respect this on the field/off the field distinction. The Astros and Red Sox were doing it openly and not acting like they were committing some sort of mortal sin. Compare that to steroids, which players by and large used in private and then lied about later. I'm sure that if the 1951 Giants were stealing signs from the stands, the late 80's and early 90's White Sox were stealing signs from the stands, and the Astros and Red Sox were doing it with a camera, there were several other teams doing it throughout history. It just seems odd that this has become an appalling act now.

At the December 1961 Winter Meetings, the National League banned the use of a "mechanical device" to steal signs.[7] The use of electronic equipment is not specifically forbidden by MLB rules, but in 2001, Sandy Alderson, while serving as executive vice president for baseball operations of MLB, issued a memorandum stating that teams cannot use electronic equipment to communicate with each other during games, especially for the purpose of stealing signs.

The line is not blurry.

I'm not necessarily saying the line is blurry. I'm saying the line doesn't make a lot of sense, and many people who have been a part of major league baseball and are currently a part of major league baseball seem to agree.