If there’s one thing baseball players hate, it’s when opponents attempt or succeed at stealing their signs. It’s a fairly silly thing, because if they really expected the other team to look the other way out of sheer decorum, they wouldn’t have to do so much to disguise what’s coming. Also, every player should absolutely be trying to steal signs if it gives his team an advantage, because there are no rules against it and the point is to win the game.

But the practice of sign-stealing goes from an innocent and understandable part of on-field play to a weirder and more concerning competitive advantage if and when teams incorporate agents and technologies beyond the diamond to figure out what their opponents are planning. The Toronto Blue Jays have long been dogged by allegations of a mysterious man in white clothing — the Man in White — who sits in center field at the Rogers Centre and relays pitch calls to Blue Jays hitters, somehow. And on Sunday, with the Padres hitting at a home game at Petco Park, Yadier Molina spotted something suspicious out in center field:

It happens so quickly that it’s not easy to see what’s going on here. But Molina appeared to be discussing something with home-plate umpire Sean Barber throughout Brett Wallace’s at-bat with two out and two on in the ninth. And after Wallace — who represented the potential tying run for the Padres — put a good swing on a Trevor Rosenthal fastball and fouled it off, Molina began pointing out to the center-field camera well.

Who was in the center field camera well? This guy:

If you look closely, you’ll note that the man in the photo above has the Padres’ “Swinging Friar” logo on the breast of his polo shirt. He’s also wearing binoculars and holding a walkie-talkie, and he’s standing someplace fans can’t typically access. Still, it’s sort of amazing that Molina has the type of vision and awareness necessary to spot this guy, considering he also needs to be focused on corralling Rosenthal’s triple-digit heat.

According to a spokesperson for the Padres, the man is a member of the club’s security team who is normally stationed in the center-field well and had to temporarily leave his post.

But if the Padres have really been stealing signs this season, they’re horrible at it. San Diego sits in last place in the NL West, and players have hit .219 with a .607 OPS in home games through Sunday. If that’s what happens when the Padres know what pitches are coming, the Cardinals might as well just yell out what pitches are coming.



