Instant Replay coming to MLB?

[Migrant Redbird]

Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president for labor relations. "For example, we've had an understanding with the WUA for some time that the crew chief and the crew chief only would be the one responsible for reviewing the video and making the decision on instant replay.

I disagree with this. Add 15 new umpires to the pool, 1 per crew, and rotate umpiring crew members through the replay booth. The umpire crew chief would have an ear piece, similar to those the Secret Service wears, with a direct link to the replay official. The replay official reviews the relevant play quickly and immediately informs the crew chief whether the play should be reversed or not. In most cases, an experienced umpire should be able to review the relevant clip (cued up for him by a video technician) and make a decisive judgment one way or the other within a few seconds, in less time than most managerial arguments with the umpires take today. In a few cases, more review/discussion may be necessary, but it shouldn't be any more disruptive to the game than occurs during controversial plays today. As managers learn to trust that the replay official enables the umpire crew to get it right 99.99 percent of the time, they'll have fewer arguments.

When the replays aren't decisive, the crew chief will so inform the managers and the original call will stand. That's a lot better than today's situation, where reversals depend upon another umpire with a better view of the play recalling what he thinks he saw. With the ability to video replay, with slow motion and freeze frame, umpiring crews would get a lot more calls right. The days of the "bad call" affecting game outcomes decisively would be over. To me, that's an immense improvement over the current situation, where umpiring mistakes can turn games around.