I’m almost beginning to feel sorry for Alex Rodriguez.  Everyone is picking on him.  The latest strike against him is that he is being accused of collusion.  He has an enviable batting record but now it seems the figures may be inflated.  Alex is accused of pitch-tipping.  Pitch-tipping involves somehow signaling the oncoming pitch to the hitter of the opposing team.  According to an op-ed in NYT:

So, according to the latest story, Alex is connected to some pitch-tipping scheme in which he relayed signs to the opposing hitter (if he was a friend) or for someone who would return the favor when he was hitting. This was supposedly done in one-sided games where, in theory, one team had no chance of catching up. Alex was said to be in cahoots with a lot of middle infielders. Allegedly, there was some sign he would relay to the hitter — a movement with his glove or his feet — to let the hitter know what type of pitch was coming and where.

That is, there was “I scratch your back and you scratch mine” equilibrium.  No contract is in place to enforce this so it would have to be enforced implicitly over multiple rounds as a repeated game equilibrium.  It’s pretty cunning and companies have been known to do it.  Alex didn’t need a M.B.A. to be taught it.  He learned it in the game of hard strikes.

(Hat tip: Pablo Montagnes, PhD student).