Brewers announcers accuse St. Louis Cardinals of stealing signs

Milwaukee Brewers announcer Bill Schroeder accused the St. Louis Cardinals of stealing signs on Friday. The claim has little merit.

Paranoia surrounds the game of baseball. Ever since the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, other teams have been concerned that other teams are doing the same, and some players have gone on the record in recent seasons to suggest that has been the case.

On Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals were accused of stealing signs in a game against Milwaukee by Brewers announcer Bill Schroeder, who said: “We have not seen this kind of attack against Freddy Peralta in a long time. It’s almost as if they know what’s coming. He’s not using a PitchCom. I’m not saying the Cardinals are stealing signs and knowing what’s coming. I’m just saying that’s how it looks.”

Odd.

Schroeder does not speak for the Brewers and it does not reflect how the team actually feels or thinks. He was not wrong that Peralta rarely gets lit up like that – he’s one of the best young pitchers in baseball – and in three innings against the Cardinals allowed seven hits, six runs while striking out four and walking two. His ERA soared to 11.57.

But it does not mean that the Cardinals are stealing signs and quite honestly, it was a reckless opinion to share on a live broadcast with seemingly no evidence to back that claim up. It’s much ado about nothing and not something that the Cardinals or Brewers should worry about going forward, though you can guarantee that both organizations have heard these claims by now.

Whether they plan to address them publicly is unclear, though it’s highly doubtful. Quite simply, it was a bad outing by Peralta, and a ferocious Cardinals lineup that features Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill took advantage of it.

Nothing to see here. But it could add a little more intensity to what is becoming a very fun rivalry in the National League Central.