When Yasmani Grandal and Clayton Kershaw formed the battery for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, the outside perception was the two were having trouble getting on the same page.
There isn’t a lack of familiarity, with Grandal in his second season with the Dodgers and having caught Kershaw plenty throughout 2016. But there were several visits on the mound during Kershaw’s five innings of work.
Each incited the crowd at Nationals Park. Kershaw said after the game it was simply a means of ensuring he and Grandal were on the same wavelength, which was of further importance given the magnitude of the game.
Grandal caught Kershaw on Sunday in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series without the same conversations.
According to Pedro Moura of the LA Times, Grandal said he convened with that much frequency in Washington D.C. to safeguard against the Nationals stealing signs, which he believes Chicago Cubs utility man Ben Zobrist did Saturday night:
“All the sudden, Russell is not taking good swings at sliders, looking like he’s looking for a fastball and in a certain location,” Grandal said. “Did we know Zobrist had the signs and was doing something for it? Yeah, we did. That’s why we do it.”
“We are literally paranoid when it comes to men on second and they are trying to get signs,” Grandal said. “We know who is getting the signs. We know what they’re doing. We know what they do to get it. In the playoffs, one relayed sign could mean the difference between winning the World Series and not getting there. That’s why we have four or five different sets of signs, and we’re constantly changing.”
There wasn’t much opportunity for the Cubs to potentially relay any signs, as Kershaw limited Chicago to just two hits over seven innings. What’s more, only Javier Baez reached second base after his single was followed by a Wilson Contreras base hit.
A similar topic was raised after the St. Louis Cardinals proved time and time again to succeed at a prolific rate against Kershaw in the postseason. There was talk of pitches being tipped and stolen signs, though Kershaw and A.J. Ellis dismissed the notion.
In May, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina suspected Scott Kazmir relayed signs to Corey Seager from second base.
