An explosive report from The Athletic last week on the 2017 Houston Astros’ alleged electronic sign-stealing system was the starter’s pistol for internet sleuths across social media to find evidence of the illegal scheme.
So far, the results have been considerable. Videos have emerged of at-bats in which bangs from a reportedly nearby trashcan can be heard, and one study from Baseball Prospectus found a clear footprint of the noises in audio data from home games of the World Series champions.
Now, it appears the sleuths might have found the exact tool with which the Astros allegedly made the noises.