“Old school, bold cheating” - Fans react as Josh Naylor’s “blatant” sign-stealing baffles ex-MLBer in tense matchup vs. Tigers

Detroit Tigers' ALDS Game 4 against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons.

During the fourth inning of the clash, Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor, who was at second base, relayed signals to Mitch Garver at the plate. Naylor relayed signals for multiple pitches which shocked former MLB pitcher Adam Wainwright in the commentary booth.

“I’ve never seen it so blatant,” Wainwright said.

Fans reacted to the former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher being taken aback by Naylor's strategy.

"That's some old-school, bold cheating."

"That’s on the pitcher and catcher. Y’all need to tighten it up. Great base running passing on those signs."

"You can’t make him pay in the playoffs, but they need to make him pay at some point."

"So that’s how they beat the Astros for the AL west huh."

"If you’ve paid any attention to the Mariners at all late this season you would know how much Naylor has just been screwing with opponents heads."

Naylor's sign stealing of Tyler Holton's pitches led to Graver being walked and load the bases for the Mariners. Naylor scored on a double play to give Seattle a 2-0 lead in the frame. Holton was taken off the mound after allowing an earned run on two hits with a walk.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash