Yelich on sign-stealing: 'We have nothing to hide'

MILWAUKEE -- Former National League MVPs Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun went on the record Sunday in saying the Brewers have not participated in the sort of illicit sign-stealing that earned the Houston Astros significant penalties this month.

“We have nothing to hide. We don't do anything like that,” Yelich said. “We haven't participated in any sign-stealing. This is going to be one of those things that the fallout from this isn't good for the game, and that's a shame.”

Added Braun: “Everybody is paranoid that we do it. Everybody is convinced we’ve done some of those things. But we’ve literally never even given signs from second base in my 14 years here.”

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Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish earlier this offseason started a back-and-forth with Yelich on Twitter after seeing a view of Yelich’s eyes supposedly shifting toward the Brewers’ bullpen while he was in the batter’s box against Darvish last season. Darvish later backed off the suggestion that he was accusing Yelich of anything. And more recently, a northern Wisconsin radio host reported he heard from Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster that Colorado wondered about sign-stealing during the 2018 NL Division Series that the Brewers won in a three-game sweep.

But there’s nothing to those whispers, Yelich and Braun said.

“I mean, I think we’ve always had pretty significant home/road splits, which I’m sure is a part of it,” Braun said. “But when you factor in our ballpark, which is very hitter-friendly, I think that’s a big part of it. No doubt, teams have always been paranoid coming into our ballpark, but I also think most teams are paranoid about going to every ballpark. You guys are here and cover our team, so you probably hear it more. But I think it’s prevalent across the league as far as teams being paranoid about other teams stealing signs.”

Said Yelich: “You can't ignore it because it's definitely something that's been prevalent in the news, so I’ve definitely been seeing what's been going on. This thing is not good for baseball. It's not a good look.”

The Brewers’ president of baseball operations, David Stearns, was Houston’s assistant GM through 2015, but that was two years before the activity in question.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said he would have been “stunned” had Brewers players been involved in illegal sign-stealing.

“Cheating sucks and we don’t do it,” Attanasio said.

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With the matter making such big news in baseball this winter, will manager Craig Counsell bring it up with his club when it gathers next month for Spring Training?

“I don’t see a need to bring it up,” Counsell said. “Look, I think what happened is the league had to make a tough call. [The Astros] crossed the line on the rules. It’s unfortunate, but it has to be done. There’s competitive people in this job, like in every job, but you still have to have your ethical flag in the ground and understand where those lines are. It’s unfortunate, but the league had to address it.”

Counsell added, “It’s a line, you know? And sometimes the lines get grayed, and technology can gray lines, especially. But there is a way that is within the rules to decode signs that I don’t think should stop. It should be part of the game. It’s skill that should be part of the game. Players and coaching staffs and front offices looking for advantages, that’s part of the game. That’s allowed, that’s legal, that should be allowed. It should be encouraged. And we’ll still encourage our players to find advantages in legal ways.”