Pearce Nuget Chiles (May 28, 1867 – December 11, 1933), nicknamed "What's The Use", was an American professional baseball player who played as both an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in the Major Leagues from 1899-1900 for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. During his time with the Phillies as a 3rd base coach, he became infamous for his role in sign stealing. Among others,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

shortstop

Tommy Corcoran Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn Gro ...

noticed that Chiles' leg twitched, but only at the

Baker Bowl National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with a ...

and only when he stood in the same omnipresent puddle which seemed to persist even when it didn't rain. On September 17, 1900, Corcoran ran to where Chiles was standing and kicked his cleats in the dirt until he found a wooden box with protruding wires. Through this device, someone in the stadium was stealing opponents’ pitch signs and signaling Chiles via electrical pulses from the box. Chiles then verbally fed the pitch to the batter. Upon discovery, the umpire made Chiles change places, but no further penalties or fines were ever assessed.

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1867 births Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball infielders Baseball players from Missouri 19th-century baseball players Philadelphia Phillies players Lawrence Jayhawks players St. Joseph Saints players Galveston Sand Crabs players Scranton Miners players Waco Tigers players People from Henry County, Missouri 1933 deaths Topeka Capitals players American sportspeople convicted of crimes {{US-baseball-outfielder-1860s-stub