Major League Baseball confirmed that the Boston Red Sox baseball team used an Apple Watch to steal hand signals from the New York Yankees, according to The New York Times.

Hand signals are used by teams for all sorts of reasons, typically to tell players when to steal bases, what kind of pitches to throw and more.

According to The New York Times, the Yankees caught on to "a member of the Red Sox training staff looking at his Apple Watch in the dugout and then relaying a message to players, who may have then been able to use the information to know the type of pitch that was going to be thrown."

If a pitcher was going to throw a fastball, for example, this member of the Boston Red Sox staff could have relayed that information to the batter.

The Apple Watch doesn't display video, though it's possible pictures or text was used to relay messages. The New York Times said the Boston Red Sox have also accused the Yankees of stealing signs using camera equipment.

As The New York Times points out, stealing signs is legal and decrypting them can be a huge help to an opposing team. The only tool allowed in doing so, however, is the human eye.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told CNBC:

"We will conduct a thorough investigation of the charges on both sides. I want to do that quickly. I think that's important – that we get it resolved. The only thing that I can tell you about repercussions is that to the extent that there was a violation on either side – and I'm not saying that there was – to the extent that there was a violation on either side, we are 100% comfortable that it is not an ongoing issue – that if it happened, it is no longer happening. I think that's important from an integrity perspective going forward."

Read more at The New York Times.