Angels Fire Scout Known as ‘The Baseball Spy’ for Filming Opposing Coaches

A scout, ironically known as “The Baseball Spy,” is going to have to find someone else to spy for after the Los Angeles Angels fired him for illegally filming coaches for the Colorado Rockies.

The Halos canned Justin “Boomer” Prinstein for using his cell phone to film the Rockies coaches while he was in the stands.

The incident occurred when Prinstein was dispatched to scout the Rockies from June1-3 in advance of Colorado’s upcoming series against the Angels. A member of the Rockies organization spotted Prinstein filming and reported it.

Prinstein was dismissed, and the Angels issued an apology to Rockies President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta and General Manager Josh Byrnes.

The Angels will not face any discipline from Major League Baseball, the Athletic reported.

It is generally legal for scouts to film, so the firing and subsequent apologies seem odd.

Yet MLB has been under increasing pressure over sign-stealing in general and the use of technology to steal signs in particular, ever since a massive sign-stealing scandal rocked the league in 2020 when it was learned that the Houston Astros had used a stadium camera to steal signs from opposing catchers in the 2017 World Series.

Also ironic: before he entered MLB as a full-time scout, Prinstein covered the Astros sign-stealing scandal extensively on his podcast, The Baseball Spy. 

It is unknown what exactly Prinstein was filming.