A base runner in the Little League World Series was caught signaling pitches to the batter. The runner used a quick flick of the wrist to indicate a fastball after peeking at the catcher’s signs. The batter took the pitch with that knowledge, then got another fastball call. That one got crushed into the right-center gap, clearing the bases and extending the lead. This showed how even at that level, some players use legal sign-stealing to get an edge.
The pitcher mostly relied on fastballs, making it easy for the runner to predict and relay. All pitches that inning were fastballs, except one. On the curveball sign, the grip changed, the pitch was spiked, and the catcher couldn’t stop it. A run scored on the passed ball. Ironically, the only pitch that wasn’t a fastball was the one that backfired, and knowing the sign wouldn’t have helped the batter anyway. This clip highlighted both the benefits and limits of sign-stealing in youth baseball and how heavily some pitchers rely on just one pitch.