VIDEO: Dodgers' Kenley Jansen Purposely Balked Against Cubs Fearing Jason Heyward Was Stealing Signs
By Seth Carlson
Sign stealing is a common concern in baseball, with teams creating a complex series of visuals to communicate various messages to players, whether its in the batter's box, on the pitcher's mound, or on the basepaths. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen felt there was an ongoing robbery during Friday's game against the Cubs and he purposely balked to put an end to it.
Here's another look:
With Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward on second base, Jansen seemingly utters "I'm going to balk," so the batter couldn't be able to decode whatever Heyward was allegedly trying to tell him. In a two-run game, every batter matters in the ninth, so this was a good move by Jansen if he felt that was happening.
The Dodgers ended up winning 5-3, so it looks like his decision was the safe one.