Davenport Northwest is representing the state of Iowa and the Midwest Region at the Little League World Series. It denies any allegations of cheating through a sign-stealing operation during the regional tournament.
Head coach Mark Erwin explained the misunderstanding.
The whole thing is much ado about nothing. He did not instruct his players to violate Little League bylaws.
Davenport Northwest was accused of stealing signs.
Unlike high school, college or professional baseball, where reading an opponent’s signs from second base is often part of the game, Little League rules strictly prohibit stealing and relaying signs to alert a batter of pitch selection or location. It is classified as unsportsmanlike behavior.
Rule 9.01 (d) reads as follows: “The stealing and relaying of signs to alert the batter of pitch selection and/or location is unsportsmanlike behavior. If, in the judgment of the umpire this behavior is occurring, the team manager and those responsible including any player(s) and/or coach(es) shall be warned after the first offense. Those responsible including any player(s), coach(es), and/or manager shall be ejected from the game for a team’s subsequent offense.”
This rule was thrust to the forefront of conversation during the Southwest Region tournament in 2025 during a game between Texas West and Oklahoma. It did not lead to an ejection but teams were warned.
A similar incident took place at the Midwest Region tournament earlier this month when Wisconsin manager Kyle Fox accused Iowa of stealing signs during the championship game. He noticed a Davenport Northwest baserunner who repeatedly tugged on his battle helmet at second base after his catcher gave the pitch call to his pitcher. Later in the game, a different Iowa baserunner appeared to signal to the hitter after the pitch was called, which led to a tense conversation between Fox and the umpires.
The umpiring crew did not rule in favor of Wisconsin. Nobody was ejected. Iowa did not even receive a warning. Play on.
In the end, Davenport Northwest defeated Whitefish Bay to win the Midwest Regional and punch its ticket to Williamsport.
Unfortunately, the widespread speculation about the second base shenanigans cast a dark cloud over the victory. Was it fair?
Iowa’s Little League representative vehemently denies cheating.
Iowa was supposed to play its first game of the Little League World Series on Thursday. The game was postponed to Friday due to weather. Davenport Northwest head coach Mark Erwin took the extra time to discuss the sign stealing scandal.
He told the Des Moines Register that he did not instruct his players to cheat. His team did not do anything illegal at the Southwest Region tournament championship game.
“We didn’t teach it and I can honestly say with 100% (certainty) that the guys that were involved absolutely had nothing to do with any sign-stealing.”
The player who tugged on his helmet at second base wears a helmet that is too big for his head. It was not an attempt to relay a signal.
“His helmet is extremely big on him. He’s got a little smaller head. And if you watched him on the other bases, he’s constantly moving his helmet. So, there’s no signs given.”
Erwin was upset with the allegations. The controversy has tarnished his team’s success.
“The guys involved didn’t know anything about it really until the next day of what was going on with the story that someone’s decided to try and dig up or make up. But the frustrating part is it takes away from all the hard work and the effort of the guys that did win that game. We made some plays. A few guys had some hits. I think we only had like four hits, though, so if we were stealing signs, maybe we would have had 10 or 12 hits.”
Erwin later doubled down on the incorrect helmet sizing during an interview with Shannon Ehrhardt.
There you have it. The Iowa Little League player was not tugging on his helmet as part of a sign-stealing operation. The Davenport Northwest player has a small head. He tugged on his helmet because it is too big.