Astros players or team staffers watching the live camera feed behind the dugout used various audio cues, such as banging on a trash can, to tell the batter what type of pitch was coming next.

MLB found no evidence of illicit sign stealing in the 2019 season, in which the Astros advanced to the World Series, but lost in seven games to the Washington Nationals.

[5] MLB's investigation also determined that Red Sox manager Alex Cora helped mastermind the Astros' sign-stealing while serving as Hinch's bench coach in 2017.

Carlos Beltrán was the only Astros player from 2017 named in the report; he had been hired to manage the New York Mets in November 2019 but parted ways with the team after the results of MLB's investigation were announced.

On November 12, 2019, journalists Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich published a story in The Athletic, detailing for the first time specific allegations that the Astros had engaged in illicit electronic sign stealing.

[37] Internet sports personality Jimmy "Jomboy" O'Brien published videos on YouTube and Twitter, sourced from MLB.TV archives, that appeared to clearly show the scheme playing out in real time.

Joon Lee from ESPN.com credited "social media sleuthing skills" with helping shape the league's investigation by reducing the amount of time needed to review video for evidence.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported, "In recent days I have had scouts and executives talk to me about a variety of methods they think have been or could be employed, such as a realistic-looking electronic bandage placed on a player's body that buzzes in real time to signal what is coming.

[45] In a January Houston Chronicle article published before MLB announced the findings from its investigation, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa expressed surprise that Fiers had made the accusations.

The report detailed that two months into the 2017 season, Astros bench coach Alex Cora and a group of players which included Beltrán worked to create a system to steal signs.

The investigation revealed that Luhnow did not know about the banging scheme, though he had "some knowledge" about replay room staffers decoding signs and transmitting them to the dugout, contrary to his denials.

Manfred also believed that same culture allowed Luhnow's assistant Brandon Taubman to make misogynistic remarks to female reporters after the Astros clinched the 2019 pennant.

While I will not impose additional discipline on Cora as a result of the conduct engaged in by [the Red Sox' replay operator] (because I do not find that he was aware of it), I do note that Cora did not effectively communicate to Red Sox players the sign-stealing rules that were in place for the 2018 season.On January 16, 2020, the New York Mets and Beltrán—who was hired as their manager in the 2019–2020 offseason—mutually agreed to part ways, as he was the only then-Astros player called out by name for his involvement in the scheme.

[71] Rumors again circulated that Astros players were wearing buzzing electronic devices during the 2019 playoffs that would relay a stolen sign through vibrations, as originally speculated in a report in the New York Post.

[78] After Bregman's and Altuve's comments were criticized, Crane promised that the team would hold a press conference at spring training when all the players were together to "apologize for what happened, ask for forgiveness and move forward".

[79] At the 2019 Baseball Writers' Association of America banquet, Justin Verlander, in his acceptance speech for winning the 2019 AL Cy Young Award, said of the Astros "as everybody knows, they're very technologically and analytically advanced", prompting a mix of boos and laughter from the audience.

[85] Verducci asked Hinch about the allegations the Astros had changed from the trash can banging to electronic buzzers worn underneath their uniforms that would signal what pitch was coming.

In my interview with Tom, I acknowledged the commissioner's report as evidence due to the in-depth nature of the investigation, not as an intended non-answer or a way to elude the question.

"[91] Tony Kemp, who played in 17 regular season games for the Astros in 2017 after a September call-up, said he was immediately asked if he wanted to participate in the sign stealing scheme but refused.

"[97] While the investigation was ongoing, Molly Knight of The Athletic identified and attempted to contact nine pitchers who were demoted to the minors or designated for assignment immediately after a poor appearance against the Astros in 2017.

Four pitchers agreed to be quoted anonymously; three put the blame for their fates on their own performance and a fourth saw the allegations as an explanation for why Astros players seemed to be more comfortable at the plate at home.

[107] Former MLB player Doug Glanville, in The Athletic, wrote that it was "inevitable" that an Astros pitcher like Fiers was going to break the scandal because the sign stealing scheme only benefited hitters.

[119] The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution in January 2020 calling on MLB to strip the Astros of the 2017 World Series title and award it to the Dodgers.

[120] US Representative Bobby Rush from Illinois released a letter calling on the chairman of the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform to open a congressional investigation into the scandal along with MLB's response.

[137] On November 8, 2020, ex-Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow sued the Astros, alleging that Astros owner Jim Crane and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred negotiated penalties for the sign-stealing scandal that enabled the team to paint Luhnow as the scapegoat for the organization and fire its general manager "in order to save more than $22 million in guaranteed salary".

"[143] On February 11, 2020, Rosenthal and Drellich published an article in The Athletic, drawing from interviews of six unnamed members of the 2017 Astros, which portrayed Beltrán as the leader of the clubhouse and the ringleader of the electronic sign stealing system.

"[145] The scandal led to scrutiny of the culture of the Astros organization under Crane and Luhnow, which according to Jeremy Venook of The Atlantic had "developed a reputation for a cutthroat, win-at-all-costs mentality that sacrificed the human element of the game for marginal gains on the playing field".

[146] It also prompted questions about how technology had taken over the game, especially with the introduction of instant replay review in 2014 and all 30 teams installing video rooms to decide whether to challenge calls in real time.

[156] However, tempers boiled over in a July 2020 series when Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly and Astros hitter Carlos Correa jawed at each other, leading to a benches-clearing incident.

Before the start of the 2022 season, MLB approved the use of PitchCom, a wireless communication system used in baseball that lets a player request pitches without using visible signals, with the intentions of deterring sign stealing and quickening the pace of play.