Sign stealing scandal
A diversion for some of the elite to keep people focused on baseball scandals instead of the people who are taking their (the fans) money.
The sign stealing scandal got the attention of a lot of people, it distracted them from what the elite who are not part of any sports organization were doing with their money, and with their own time.
Sign stealing scandal
A bunch of drama created to get people talking about and paying attention to baseball again, to get better TV ratings.
If TV ratings were good, nobody would hear anything about a sign stealing scandal.