Anyone see the blown replay call in Clev and A's game

[Spoonless]

I don't understand why they do things the way they do. Why isn't there already someone in the booth watching this stuff? Why do we send the umps from the field to go review it instead of already having someone actively reviewing it? Heck, they should have a permanent review specialist for each stadium, who will be familiar with their particular stadium and its idiosyncrasies, and then have an additional, non-rotating member of each umpire crew whose job is also purely review-related. Having two people in a review booth, one as part of the umpire crew and one as not, should help insure impartial decision-making. By non-rotating, I just mean that their job is purely review-related; they wouldn't work the field. They should probably rotate through the various umpire crews.

Anyway, it's not like the hiring and training of such individuals would cost much money in the grand scheme of things, and it would improve the integrity of the game. It would also keep the amount of gametime lost due to review delays to a minimum.

[bdlj0887]

I don't understand why they do things the way they do. Why isn't there already someone in the booth watching this stuff? Why do we send the umps from the field to go review it instead of already having someone actively reviewing it? Heck, they should have a permanent review specialist for each stadium, who will be familiar with their particular stadium and its idiosyncrasies, and then have an additional, non-rotating member of each umpire crew whose job is also purely review-related. Having two people in a review booth, one as part of the umpire crew and one as not, should help insure impartial decision-making. By non-rotating, I just mean that their job is purely review-related; they wouldn't work the field. They should probably rotate through the various umpire crews.

Anyway, it's not like the hiring and training of such individuals would cost much money in the grand scheme of things, and it would improve the integrity of the game. It would also keep the amount of gametime lost due to review delays to a minimum.

How would Angel Hernandez do his thang then?

How?!

[waroriole]

Angel Hernandez blew a call? Who'd a thunk?

It's amazing that he, among others, is still employed by MLB as an umpire. What's even worse is that he was calling games in the playoffs. He's easily recognized as one of the worst umpires in MLB, and they have him calling playoff games.

[Plutarch]

I don't understand why they do things the way they do. Why isn't there already someone in the booth watching this stuff? Why do we send the umps from the field to go review it instead of already having someone actively reviewing it? Heck, they should have a permanent review specialist for each stadium, who will be familiar with their particular stadium and its idiosyncrasies, and then have an additional, non-rotating member of each umpire crew whose job is also purely review-related. Having two people in a review booth, one as part of the umpire crew and one as not, should help insure impartial decision-making. By non-rotating, I just mean that their job is purely review-related; they wouldn't work the field. They should probably rotate through the various umpire crews.

Anyway, it's not like the hiring and training of such individuals would cost much money in the grand scheme of things, and it would improve the integrity of the game. It would also keep the amount of gametime lost due to review delays to a minimum.

I may be incorrect but I think that the NHL has all of their replays reviewed, in real time, by NHL HQ in Toronto - seems to work very well. Since all baseball games are televised I don't see why MLB could not judge their replays in the same manner. Saves time and takes the responsibility off of the umpires

[howboutthoseos]

I may be incorrect but I think that the NHL has all of their replays reviewed, in real time, by NHL HQ in Toronto - seems to work very well. Since all baseball games are televised I don't see why MLB could not judge their replays in the same manner. Saves time and takes the responsibility off of the umpires

I believe MLB is instituting that next year.

Agree with those who have pointed out that unless you have the zoomed in view, the replay WAS inconclusive. I actually thought it hit off the wall until I saw the uber-zoomed-in view.

[Dipper9]

I believe MLB is instituting that next year.

Agree with those who have pointed out that unless you have the zoomed in view, the replay WAS inconclusive. I actually thought it hit off the wall until I saw the uber-zoomed-in view.

The guys on the MLB Network said the umps have the exact same views as the home viewer. There is NO excuse for them missing this call. None!

[olehippi]

The MLB is saying the umpires made an 'improper call'......but the call will stand. Sorry, but that is a BS decision. The next time the Indians play the A's, they should make the teams start playing the game again from that point and with a 4-4 tie.

And what this proves is that even with instant replay, umpires are still blind!!!

[Morgan423]

Some team is going to be extremely mad if that game keeps the A's out of the playoffs or lets Cleveland bump someone out of them.

[Can_of_corn]

It's amazing that he, among others, is still employed by MLB as an umpire. What's even worse is that he was calling games in the playoffs. He's easily recognized as one of the worst umpires in MLB, and they have him calling playoff games.

He never should have made it to the majors as an umpire.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/09/angel-hernandez-was-a-controversial-umpire-in-the-minor-leagues-too/

We’re talking two decades ago, but Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News uncovered this article from way back in 1991, which notes that “Hernandez is reputed around the league to be an umpire who yearns for the spotlight.”

Here’s more, from Triple-A:

He attracted notice in Saturday’s series opener by calling a phantom balk on 13-year big-league veteran Rick Sutcliffe. Hernandez attracted more attention Sunday with a call at home plate that replays proved blatantly incorrect.

I wonder why someone with these issues would ever get promoted to the majors in the first place?

[oriolesmagic9]

That was one of the most inexcusable calls I have ever seen, given the fact they had replay available. Awful. Regular people are subject to penalties when they screw up at work. This is just piss-poor for MLB. However, it is no surprise because MLB typically lags behind the rest of the world in common-sense.

[Camden_yardbird]

I don't know how Angel Hernandez still has a job. I hope beyond anything else that the next Commissioner takes some serious steps to holding bad umpires accountable. It would make one of the biggest differences in improving the quality of the game.

[OriolesFaithful]

I know ump supervisors have been fired but what about actual umpires? Are they so heavily unionized that they're untouchable?

Just interested if there is past protocol for firing an umpire and how common it is.

[Dipper9]

The game of baseball is very fast and umps are not always going to see things correctly. In my softball night game last week, I was catching (hey, I'm getting old man) and on one play, our third baseman starts yelling at the ump that the runner missed third base, and he's pointing at the ground by the base. The ump says to me "Its dark, I have the entire field to look at, and your guy thinks I can see that the runner missed third base by this much?" (he holds his fingers apart an inch). It was actually pretty funny and very accurate.

So in saying that, I don't expect umps to get every call correct all the time. BUT....I do expect that when they go back and view a play on instant replay, in those circumstances there is no room for error, and they MUST get the call correct 100% of the time. No excuses.

[Don_Aase_Fan]

MLB's Crappy Replay Tech: It's A Miracle Umps Ever Get A Call Right

The Sharp Aquos 19" monitor isn't capable of full HD resolution, so when MLBAM executive VP Dinn Mann claimed umps see the "same video in HD" that fans viewing at home do, he wasn't being honest.

Haha, wow.

[ledzepp8]

MLB's Crappy Replay Tech: It's A Miracle Umps Ever Get A Call Right

Haha, wow.

That's a pretty silly article and a disingenous argument at best. He's splitting hairs to say the least. It's not "full HD resolution", therefore it's not 1080p. That's only because it's a smaller monitor. I guarantee it's still 720p. And if we're getting technical pretty much all sports is broadcast in 720p. The naked eye is not going to discern much difference between the two as it is.

That's not even mentioning the fact that one of the first things the author says is that people have probably been watching the blown call on their computer screens for the past week. So what's the difference there?