Advertisement

Online History: Baseball fans embroiled in detective work over alleged Astros spying scheme

A man named Kyle McLaughlin, who may have photographed the Red Sox and Indians dugouts, is shown with Houston Astros owner Jim Crane.
A man named Kyle McLaughlin, who may have photographed the Red Sox and Indians dugouts, is shown with Houston Astros owner Jim Crane.

As the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros clashed in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series on Tuesday — the first contest of the series to be played in Houston — a story broke back in Boston. An Astros-affiliated person was accused of doing something near the home dugout at Fenway Park during Game 1.

Shortly thereafter, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan got the details: A man named Kyle McLaughlin, credentialed by the Astros, had been caught taking photos and removed by security. He had also been confronted at Progressive Field during the Astros’ sweep of the Cleveland Indians for pointing a cellphone into their dugout, and sources told Passan that the Indians tipped the Red Sox off about a man who could attempt to steal signs or information by positioning himself near the dugout.

And with that, a full-blown paranoia swept over the baseball internet. This is an Online History of the sports world’s latest spy story.

Per usual, this tale of alleged espionage started not with the accusations, but with whispers and vague insinuations. It may have started last week, with an Indians podcast featuring Cleveland sideline reporter Andre Knott.

Indians fan Slidingscrapes on Reddit: Andre Knott teasing some juicy inside info but not going into detail has me craving an explanation…

One enterprising fan listened to the podcast and provided a summary for those without the time or energy.

Reddit user rj218: Strong hinting that the Astros cheat in some manner. Andre compared it to the Patriots, that he can’t put his finger on it but something was shady at Minute Maid Park.

Then, hours before the first report on the alleged spying emerged, Knott hinted at the oncoming news.

When it broke, Indians pitcher and social media provocateur Trevor Bauer — who already had a viral, cheating-related dust-up with the Astros this season — quickly piled on.

Note his conspicuous use of the Astros’ team hashtag, #NeverSettle. It has become a bit of a trope for him. His last three Instagram posts include the hashtag despite featuring images of the nose of a Jeep, a sports car and a sunset near railroad tracks.

Bauer, on Instagram: The sun sets on all events in life. Be sure not to miss the beauty in those times. #NeverSettle for where you are in life. #OutageAllOver

Red Sox fans, nervously and then gleefully watching a Game 3 romp, also had plenty to say. One fan realized he may have been an eyewitness to the clandestine drama at Fenway during Game 1.

For one Twitter sleuth, this presented a chance to corroborate the story. What else did the fan see?

Jeffrey Baron, on Twitter: He had a point and shoot camera…hard to see what he was doing. Same guy that the Indians fingered though, per @JeffPassan story on Yahoo

Some Boston sports fans were hesitant to claim the moral high ground too quickly, knowing that anyone attempting to give the potential scandal a moniker would soon remember the 2007 Patriots’ alleged misdeeds in 2007 that took Spygate off the board.

Red Sox fan gnope, on Reddit: As a Pats fan I would like to wait until all the facts come out, and then a subsequent investigation* to be undertaken before jumping to any conclusions just yet. *said investigation must also adhere to the laws of physics in order to be valid

Attention quickly turned to McLaughlin, who sources identified to Passan as the Astros-affiliated man with a camera.

A Houston-area radio host began searching high and low for more evidence of his connection to the club.

The most interesting voice to weigh in, however, has serious history with the shady side of baseball. A Twitter account appearing to be Chris Correa, the former Cardinals employee who served time in federal prison for hacking into Houston’s internal databases, took a not-so-veiled shot at the Astros.

By the time Tuesday’s NLCS Game 4 between the Brewers and Dodgers had reached extra innings, baseball Twitter was positively punchy from its evening of intelligence work.

What happens next? It’s far from clear. Follow Passan and Yahoo Sports for the latest developments.

More from Yahoo Sports:
Sources: Red Sox warned about alleged Astros cheating
Controversial trade backfires on Astros
Pete Thamel: Top 10 college football QB prospects
Tim Brown: Dodgers’ Machado emerges as October’s villain