Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly got into it with a Chicago Cubs coach he accused of relaying signs to his hitters on Monday night.
In the middle of the fifth inning of a 7-0 win by Chicago, the two teams started arguing about whether Quintin Berry, the third base coach for the Cubs, was giving his hitters the Diamondbacks’ signs from the coach’s box.
The beef appeared to begin when Merrill Kelly stepped off the rubber and glared directly at Berry. The two dugouts then began yelling at one another.
After the game, Merrill Kelly made it very clear how he felt
“We just thought he was relaying signs,” Kelly said to reporters. “We thought he had something on my changeup. We thought he was giving, especially to lefties, very time I was throwing a changeup, we felt like he was relaying that.
“Stealing signs is as old as baseball,” Merrill Kelly continued. “I think it’s a little bull—- when it comes from a coach. I think if it’s a guy on second base and they see the grip in your glove, or if the hitters can see something that you’re doing with your glove, that’s fair game. I think guys have been doing that since the beginning of baseball.
“I think it’s a little bush league when it comes from outside that. I think inside the lines is one thing. I think the guys that are standing outside the lines, I think it’s a little bush league.”