World Series 2018: Another Manny Machado red flag for Yankees? Red Sox accuse Dodgers shortstop of stealing signs

by Felix Pantaleón

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox resume the 2018 World Series with Game 3 on Friday, October 26, 2018 (10/26/18) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Boston won the first two games of the series at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado will be a free agent after the World Series and deep-pocketed teams like the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are expected to place bids.

It looks like Manny is being Manny again.

And once again, this should give pause to any team considering signing Manny Machado in free agency, including the Yankees.

Bleacher Report has a story up which says Machado has been stealing signs during the 2018 World Series vs. the Boston Red Sox.

The Sox say they caught him stealing and relaying signs from second base to hitters in the fourth inning of Game 2 Wednesday night in Boston, a 4-2 Red Sox victory.

“I wish I would have gone out there before the [Yasiel] Puig at-bat, before he came up in that situation, because I saw the whole thing,” Dana LeVangie, Boston’s pitching coach, told B/R late Wednesday night, referring to Puig’s RBI single in the fourth that lifted Los Angeles to a brief 2-1 lead.

David Freese and Machado led off the fourth with singles against Boston starter David Price, and then Chris Taylor walked, moving the runners up. That’s when Machado reached second.

From there, after Kemp drove in Freese from third with a sacrifice fly by swinging at the first pitch he saw from Price, things really got entertaining.

Throughout Enrique Hernandez’s nine-pitch battle with Price, Machado appeared to be relaying signs and/or location to Hernandez through an exaggerated series of motions.

As Price was coming set, Machado, leading off from second, would place his hands on his hips. Then, just before each pitch, Machado would begin a series of motions: touching his helmet with either his right or left hand, sometimes then touching or pulling the script on his jersey afterward and other times grabbing or touching the thigh/groin area of his pants.

As the at-bat unfolded, LeVangie remained in the dugout while Price fell behind Hernandez 2-1 and then 3-2 before–following three foul balls–throwing a 93 mph fastball that Hernandez swung through for strike three.

“Was it a little exaggerated? Yeah, maybe, but I saw the whole thing,” LeVangie said of Machado’s gyrations. “I had told [Boston manager] Alex [Cora] I wanted to go [to the mound] before the Puig at-bat because I wanted to talk about some things.

…

Price had not allowed a hit in the first three innings of Game 2, and after he escaped the fourth, he threw two more hitless frames. While it is unclear whether Price knew what was occurring behind him during the Hernandez and Puig at-bats in the fourth, LeVangie was doing his best to properly time his interruption.

“I just told him, ‘Hear me out. I know this is not the right time, but hear me out,'” LeVangie said.

Cora declined comment to B/R on Thursday at Dodger Stadium when asked about the dugout conversation with LeVangie in the moment and for his take on the episode overall.

“I don’t have a take,” Cora said following an off-day media briefing.

Vazquez, Price and Machado were not available for comment because neither team worked out at Dodger Stadium following all-day travel.

Projected Yanks 2019 lineup, rotation

This is the third incident involving Machado in the playoffs.

In the fourth inning of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Machado didn’t hustle down the line in a groundout to shortstop, then told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, “I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base and … you know, whatever can happen. That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.”

In the 10th inning of Game 4 of the NLCS, Machado caught the back leg of Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar while running out a ground ball. That prompted Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich to say, “It was a dirty play by a dirty player.” MLB fined Machado an undisclosed amount.

Despite these indiscretions, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported Thursday that the Yankees are the “front-runners” to sign Machado in free agency following the World Series, which resumes Friday with Game 3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. The Red Sox lead the best-of-seven series, 2-0.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.