There are a few things in this world that make Russell Martin mad. Chief among them is when he thinks an opponent is stealing the signs he's showing to his pitcher.
Last season, when Martin thought his hometown Toronto Blue Jays were stealing signs, he made very public accusations, nearly touching off an international incident.
Now he's setting his sights on the Baltimore Orioles.
After Monday night's ended game, Martin barked at Baltimore's Robert Andino, and the two yelled back and forth as the teams cleared the field. Martin wouldn't detail what was said, saying his memories are "blacked out," and in general his accusations were more muted than his aggressive statements last July in Toronto.
"A little yapping session towards the end," Martin said, dancing around the details. "I think he was inviting me to a sparring session next offseason."
But Martin made his meaning clear—and acknowledged privately that he was annoyed about what he thought was sign-stealing.
"I don't like that, no," he said.
Andino told Baltimore media Tuesday afternoon that he was not stealing signs, and that he's not that kind of player. But Yankee manager Joe Girardi said that those denials are expected—and it's part of a catcher's job to let opponents know they're watching.
"If the guy's doing it, he's not going to say, 'OK." They're going to act like they're not doing it," Girardi said. "Stealing signs has been in baseball a long time. Calling out people you think are stealing signs has been in the game a long time, too. It's all part of the merry-go-round we live on."
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