With his players being accused of stealing signs, Barrington (Rhode Island) Little League manager Chris Promades laughs.
“Ninety-five percent of the time when we give them signs from the dugout or third base,” Promades said, “they miss them.”
Tuesday was supposed to be another day of pomp and circumstance in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as Barrington prepared to play Virginia in the Little League World Series on Thursday. Instead, it turned into having to deal with a news story from the New Hampshire Union Leader in which the coach of the team from Goffstown, New Hampshire, accused Barrington of stealing signs during its 6-4 win over Goffstown in the New England Regional final on Saturday.
“My 13-year-old son called me in tears because of what happened and what was said on (TV) with them reading the lines of the story on the news and cheating allegation from Barrington,” said Barrington assistant coach Frank Fede. “It never happened.”
The allegations were made by Pat Dutton, the manager of the Goffstown Little League team.
“You can see (runners on second base) leaning in, looking in and they’re doing hand gestures to their kid (at the plate) indicating what kind of pitch it is and where it’s located,” Dutton told the Union Leader. “You can do that in big league ball, but in Little League, it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s dishonorable and it’s disgusting.”
The play in question occurred in the third inning of Saturday’s game. Barrington’s Owen Pfeffer was on second base with Mason Crain at the plate when Dutton yelled something to the umpire about signs. Before the next pitch, Pfeffer clapped five times, peeking around Goffstown starter Adam Lafond after the second clap, before adjusting his helmet.
The umpire immediately stopped play and talked to the Barrington coaches before play resumed.
“He said there is so sign stealing in Little League,” Fede said. “He didn’t say whether you were doing it or not; he just said there’s no sign stealing in Little League.”
“I was completely dumbfounded,” Promades said. “I said to myself, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said the other coach said the guy on second base is stealing signs. I was completely baffled.”
Dutton said the players should have been ejected from the game, per Little League rules, but the rules give that discretion to the umpires.
Last season, Goffstown led Coventry, 5-0, through five innings before the Rhode Island champions came back for a 6-5 win in the regional semifinal. In 2017, Goffstown Little League earned headlines for failing to play all its players in the regional tournament.
With Pfeffer throwing well and already 2-for-2 with one RBI on second at that point, could it have been an attempt to remove him from the game?
“It’s a great theory but I can’t say it’s true,” Fede said.
Both Barrington coaches said they were disappointed in how the story was reported – no one from the Union Leader or any local media reached out for their side – especially with how it blew up via social media. It was also a topic on sports talk radio.
It’s not the attention the coaches were hoping their players would get.
“We had to have a team meeting about this after we just won the New England regionals,” Fede said. “It’s sad and pathetic.”
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