Mookie Betts gets real on Red Sox' sign stealing in 2018: "Everybody" was doing it

BOSTON -- Of all the matters that Rob Manfred has mishandled during his tenure as MLB commissioner, the issue of sign stealing -- and the resulting discipline -- might be atop the list.

By punishing some teams for some offenses and ignoring some of those same offenses from other teams, Manfred has helped to create a distorted perception of what was going on in MLB and how serious some of those offenses were. It's not great, and the release of Evan Drellich's book "Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball's Brightest Minds Created Sports' Biggest Mess" is bringing the topic to the forefront as camps around MLB open.

It's a topic that's unavoidable for the Dodgers, who have been on both sides of the matter over the past several years. Their hiring of J.T. Watkins -- the former Red Sox video replay coordinator whom MLB suspended for a season -- made it even more relevant.

With that in mind, the Los Angeles Times' Dylan Hernandez spoke to Mookie Betts, who's obviously a current member of the Dodgers and a former member of the Red Sox, who beat the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series. Betts was asked if the Red Sox were using live video to steal signs in the 2018 regular season.

"Yeah, everybody was," Betts answered.

Betts later pushed back against the idea that the Red Sox' success came chiefly from trying to steal opponents' signs.

"No! This is what I'm trying to say. People are trying to make it like we're cheating. Give us credit," Betts said. "We had a good team. Give us some credit. We had Cy Young winners. We had MVPs. We had Gold Glove winners. We had Silver Sluggers. We had all that. Take that into account." 

Betts didn't say it ... but the Dodgers were busted for doing something during that 2018 World Series. MLB opted to not punish the Dodgers for whatever was found at the time. The Red Sox were later punished for the 2018 regular-season sign stealing. That probably helps explain why Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw has no problem with his team hiring Watkins. And it's likely why Betts feels comfortable confirming that Red Sox players contributed money to Watkins during his year-long suspension.

The more that players talk openly about what went on prior to MLB stepping up enforcement, the more Manfred is likely to squirm. But it'll also help to paint a better picture of what exactly was going on during a time when MLB clearly didn't properly address what was a growing issue in the league.