Not sure how much âhackingâ was done. Basically a GM moved teams to the Astros and picked the same password for his new database of s3kr3tinf0z at the new team. Mostly a hey I wonder if Bob used the same password, well hey look at that.
So yeah hacked but comical level of security also.
The implication is more that the GM took the actual database and site code from the old team to the new, and thus had the same password. And the âhackâ followed as some kind of revenge.
Why is it always the dominant players, who donât even need that edge? The Watergate burglars were working for a President who was cruising to a landslide reelection. I just donât get it.
Because hacking the Cubsâ data would be pointless.
Iâm not a sports fan so Iâm in the dark as to what that valuable data could be.
Off the top of my head: player trade ideas and values, what specific Sabermetrics the team valued the most and how they weighted them against each other.
Baseball teams (as well as other sports teams) can gather huge amounts of material about one single ballplayer, either from their team or on other teams (whatâs known as advance scouting). Theyâll generally send at least one scout to a game against a future adversary or to a potential trade partner.
This data gathered can be for competitive purposes (against a right-handed batter, pitcher A will throw a fastball towards the low and away part of the plate 87% of the times in a 3-2 count with 1 out and a man on 2nd base down by >=3 runs), acquisition purposes (our scouts want this player, hereâs 500 hours of video with him pitching to analyze), or self-improvement (we should change the defensive alignment because our shortstop canât go more than 2 steps to his left).
Some of the data can be a bit blase, but it can be just as competitively important to a sports team as keeping their playbook out of the hands of the competition.
And a new color for the hometown team hats. BLACK.
First thoughtâthatâs just stupid. Second thought, considering the money these folks rake in, Iâm not surprised. But hey, itâs not like the MLB has had any recent issues with honesty or integrity. And if youâll excuse me, Mr. Bonds wants to see how many pieces of rebar he can bend with his pinky fingersâŚ
Baseball has playbooks?
Cubs are great now. Get with the program.
If youâre not familiar with The Cardinal Way, most of their fans claim that the Cardinals play baseball âthe right wayâ and donât engage in shenanigans that would denigrate baseball like other teams do.
So this is delicious to see.
Better than playing the Mariners way, which is to be utter crap.
Wasnât Mark McGwire a Cardinal?
Yes, but theyâre not the stuff of super-secret football playbooks; they cover more things like defensive alignments, bunt strategy, etc. Stuff mostly covered in the early days of spring training. Thereâs also the signs relayed by the first/third basecoach to instruct the batter/baserunner, and signs between the catcher/pitcher - those get changed and embellished upon throughout the season.
Nowadays in the pros itâs a misnomer to call anything a playbook since theyâre mostly digitalized and put on tablets for convenience, with MDM, encryption, and security fixes up the wazoo. But like this story shows, a determined enough hacker will always find a way.
The attack would represent the first known case of corporate espionage in which a professional sports team hacked the network of another team.
Yes, but was there prior scifi art that predicted it? Where are our near futurists?
(yeah, I know, but I couldnât resist making that joke.)
Itâs extra amazing because, since this involved a âprotected computerâ and interstate access; the dumb bastards involved just blew way past league sanctions or an embarrassing but comparatively limited âBungled baseball burglarsâ headline and some state or local fines/community service/probation.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, baby, and theyâve got feds sniffing the water for blood. That is Epic Stupidity. There canât be anything about this baseball pissing match that could possibly be worth going to federal prison over; but they apparently decided to open up just that possibility, and without even a feeble attempt at concealment.
I. Just. Donât. Even.
Letâs sing it:
Houston assholes, Houston assholes
Houston assholes numbered scum!
(Heavy handed satire. from a Houston resident.)
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