The benches cleared in Detroit today because Chris Sale hit Victor Martinez and then proceeded to maybe accuse him of having a guy out in centerfield stealing signs. We say maybe because Sale later denied that he was accusing anyone of stealing and relaying signs.Sale struck Martinez out to end the third inning and turned around to tip his cap in the direction of right-center field. He later dismissively waved his hand in the same direction. After the game, he said was gesturing and referring to a fan who was heckling him in the bullpen before the game, telling him how Martinez was going to hit him hard.
Fast forward to the sixth inning and after cycling through multiple signs, with no one on base, Sale plunked Martinez in the arm. That's when he accused Martinez of looking out to someone in centerfield.
The benches cleared because that's what baseball players do, but nothing happened and the game continued. Later on, the Tigers gave Sale the business with Ian Kinsler's pantomime binocular's routine after breaking a 1-1 tie with an RBI double. The Tigers went on to win 6-1 and every person involved denied the whole sign-stealing thing. Baseball is weird and full of weirdos.