The big Yankees news from yesterday swirled less around the potential on-field results of the 2022 campaign and instead, dialed it back five years. In September 2017, MLB fined the Red Sox for using an Apple Watch to help steal signs, and at the same time, quietly fined the Yankees. Although MLB dismissed Boston’s allegation that the Yankees had used YES Network footage to steal signs, the league did find that they had previously used a dugout phone improperly, so they were fined as well.
In a separate lawsuit involving DraftKings, a federal judge ordered in 2019 for the letter sent by MLB to the Yankees about the sign stealing to be unsealed.