Angels Scout Called Himself ‘The Baseball Spy.’ Then He Got Caught Filming Rockies Coaches.

Justin “Boomer” Prinstein had a nickname for himself. On social media and in a short-lived podcast, he went by “The Baseball Spy.” It turned out that wasn’t just a persona.

Prinstein was hired by the Los Angeles Angels in December. In late July, ahead of a series against the Colorado Rockies, he went to Coors Field to scout. He pulled out his phone and started filming Rockies coaches from the scouts’ section. According to Brittany Ghiroli and Sam Blum of The Athletic, that decision ended his tenure with the club almost immediately.

MLB rules are clear on this. Scouts can film all they want from the stands, but using that footage — or any technology outside the broadcast feed — to decode signs is prohibited. The league caught wind of what Prinstein did and notified the Angels. Then-general manager Perry Minasian fired him. Minasian also apologized to the Rockies front office, including president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes.

Multiple sources told The Athletic that both teams believe Prinstein acted alone. The Angels aren’t facing any punishment from the league.

The irony of the self-proclaimed spy

This whole thing gets a little weird when you look at Prinstein’s history. He used to write freelance articles and had a short-lived podcast called “The Baseball Spy.” In one episode, he talked about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and how technology blurs the line between smart scouting and cheating.

“It seems there needs to be a line drawn. And there is. There’s a (MLB) memo that went out. There’s a rule that says you can’t use technology. To do this, it’s more like spying,” Prinstein said on the podcast.

So he knew the rules. He talked about the rules. And then he broke them.

What other scouts think about the situation

The Athletic spoke with scouts around the league who were not exactly surprised. One American League scout, who spoke anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, put it bluntly.

“If a guy goes to his glove a little bit more when he’s about to throw a cutter, we can see that,” the scout said. “So, unless you’re trying to cheat, there’s no good reason to have your phone out videoing. This isn’t 2014. Every team, even the Angels, has the technology to upload and analyze the broadcast.”

In other words, there’s no legitimate reason to film the opposing team’s coaches with your phone. Not anymore. Every club already has access to broadcast footage that shows you everything you need.

For the record, all that advance scouting didn’t help the Angels much. They dropped two of three games to the Rockies in that series.