Former MLB catcher Erik Kratz accuses Colorado Rockies of sign stealing in 2018

Former New York Yankees catcher Erik Kratz accused Colorado Rockies of sign stealing in 2018 in a podcast that was dropped on Friday by the YES Network, which is the television home of the  Yankees.

Kratz, who was on the Milwaukee Brewers when the Rockies faced the Brewers in the 2018 NLDS, said that the Rockies were among a few teams in the sport that were stealing signs electronically in 2018.

Kratz said that the Brewers “caught” the Rockies before the NLDS. In the 2018 NLDS, the Rockies hit .146/.210/.188, leading to the Brewers sweeping the Rockies in three games. In fact, the only player who had more than two at-bats that had a batting average above .222 was Gerardo Parra, who went 3-for-6. The Rockies had 14 hits in the three games combined.

Erik Kratz likened the Rockies to the Astros and their sign-stealing scandal of 2017 and 2018.

In addition to comparing them to the Astros, Kratz even said that he knew of “two other teams that season” that did “very, very similar things.”

Here is what Kratz’s full quote about the Rockies was:

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We asked Rockies manager Bud Black about the allegations before Friday’s and we asked if he had any comment on the allegations.

“Not really,” said Black.

Kratz retired as a player after an 11-year career after the 2020 season. He played in the major leagues with the Pirates (twice), Phillies (twice), Blue Jays, Royals, Phillies, Astros, Yankees (twice), Giants, and Rays.

We will have to see if more comes out of this developing story and if/when it does, we will either update this article and/or have new content on the site.