Instant Replay in MLB

[bird watcher]

I brought this up in another thread about the blown call against Gomez last night but thought it deserved its own thread. What does everyone think about instant replay in MLB? I wouldn't want it for balls and strikes but for bang bang plays it is obviously needed. You need multiple angles often times to correctly see what happens in slides at home like Gomez'. Roberts was also safe at second last night... and Mora the other night... and Millar's foot "coming off the bag early" at first...... MLB umpires need to let go of some ego and ask for this so they aren't embarrassed like they were last night.

[Willieboy]

Call me old-school, but I like the human element. I don't like when these obvious calls go against my team, but hopefully it all averages out at the end of the year. Batters and pitchers make mistakes, and sometimes ump's do to. I don't know much about the profession, but I hope each ump is evaluated each year and works on his shortcomings, i.e. positioning, etc.

[bird watcher]

Call me old-school, but I like the human element. I don't like when these obvious calls go against my team, but hopefully it all averages out at the end of the year. Batters and pitchers make mistakes, and sometimes ump's do to. I don't know much about the profession, but I hope each ump is evaluated each year and works on his shortcomings, i.e. positioning, etc.

I also think that the replay system should be conservative ie. only used in special circumstances. Last night clearly warranted it. I ref'ed soccer for many years and one thing we always tried to do was get the play between the Referree and the Linesman. If you have two eyes on the play at different angles you (as a team) will see things that one or the other couldn't see on their own. This isn't possible with the umpire system in place now. Plus the beauty of the replays we got last night was looking almost straight down on the play. That is an angle that the umps will never have (unless they start using jetpacks:D ). Maybe give the manager 1 challenge per game to help correct the egregious error.

[rooter]

What they need to have is another 'umpire' who is sitting behind the scenes with the ability to watch a replay and modify a call.

[bgfield]

What they need to have is another 'umpire' who is sitting behind the scenes with the ability to watch a replay and modify a call.

What they need is to strictly supervise their umps. Blown calls will happen all the time. As Willieboy said, over the course of the season they tend to average out. But umps like the guy last night need to be sent back down to the minors. The guy was missing all kinds of pitches. There was a curve ball right down the middle that he called a ball (fortunately the third base ump said the batter swung so it didn't matter). Another time Guthrie threw a fastball right at the lower outside corner for a ball. Threw it again to the same exact spot and it was called a strike.

Guys like Brian Knight who screw up the game so badly do not belong in the majors if they're going to be making mistakes like that. For the most part, you'll find umps get it right.

[BRob4]

What they need to have is another 'umpire' who is sitting behind the scenes with the ability to watch a replay and modify a call.

I like this idea. This is what they use in college football in the ACC now. There is a 'replay official' who just looks at replays of big plays or close calls. This happens as the game is going on, it doesn't stop the game, but if he finds an error he will buzz the on field ref before the next play.

This keeps the flow of the game for most of the time, unless there is an error.

[olehippi]

My feeling is that they shouldn't have "fill-in" umpires in ML games. Why do umps need to take vacations durning the season?....they have 4 months off just like the players in the off-season. I mean, what if Miggy and Mora decided they needed a vacation in the middle of the season?.... uh...never mind.

It does seem that umps blow a lot of calls, but they go both ways...bad calls at home and maybe at 2nd base last night, and the non-catch by Patterson the night before..... and probably balance out over the course of a year. The one thing that does really bother me is the non-existant strike zone...it changes day-to-day, umpire-to-umpire, and sometimes inning-to-inning. I'm amazed how an ump can blow a pitch while standing 3 feet away from the plate.

I would be in favor of using a device to determine whether a pitch is a ball or a strike....MLB uses something to gauge/test an umpires accuracy. And, I would be in favor of instant replay IF a manager challenges an umpires call, and the number of challenges is limited to 1 or 2 a game.

[eddie83]

My feeling is that they shouldn't have "fill-in" umpires in ML games. Why do umps need to take vacations durning the season?....they have 4 months off just like the players in the off-season. I mean, what if Miggy and Mora decided they needed a vacation in the middle of the season?.... uh...never mind.

It does seem that umps blow a lot of calls, but they go both ways...bad calls at home and maybe at 2nd base last night, and the non-catch by Patterson the night before..... and probably balance out over the course of a year. The one thing that does really bother me is the non-existant strike zone...it changes day-to-day, umpire-to-umpire, and sometimes inning-to-inning. I'm amazed how an ump can blow a pitch while standing 3 feet away from the plate.

I would be in favor of using a device to determine whether a pitch is a ball or a strike....MLB uses something to gauge/test an umpires accuracy. And, I would be in favor of instant replay IF a manager challenges an umpires call, and the number of challenges is limited to 1 or 2 a game.

Umpires don't have home ballparks like players do, they are constantly traveling unlike players who are home half the time. I have no problem with them having vacation.

[Jagwar]

The reality is that this was a blown call in a July game with two teams going nowhere this year. It's like a tree that falls in the forest with no one there to hear it.

Now, if it had been a blown call like the one that Denkinger blew in the '85 World Series, I would think that instant replay would have a chance. If it had been in a playoff series with the Yankees or the Red Sox (or both), it absolutely would have a chance.

But this was a bad call in a game with two less than average teams, so I wouldn't think this leads anywhere.

[olehippi]

Umpires don't have home ballparks like players do, they are constantly traveling unlike players who are home half the time. I have no problem with them having vacation.

Umpires get paid very well, and my feeling is that if they don't like the travel and being away from home, they should find another job. And, like I said, they get 3+ months off every year. I would die for that kind of benefit.

[eddie83]

Umpires get paid very well, and my feeling is that if they don't like the travel and being away from home, they should find another job. And, like I said, they get 3+ months off every year. I would die for that kind of benefit.

I assume these guys have families and would like to see them from time to time from April to September. I have to disagree on this. The kid that umpired last night should be sent back dowm to the minors after this weekend.

[bird watcher]

I like this idea. This is what they use in college football in the ACC now. There is a 'replay official' who just looks at replays of big plays or close calls. This happens as the game is going on, it doesn't stop the game, but if he finds an error he will buzz the on field ref before the next play.

This keeps the flow of the game for most of the time, unless there is an error.

This is exactly what they should do. Someone like Angelos could make it happen too if he set his mind to it. Say what you will but that guy is powerful. It will take somebody in the media to really start hounding on it an get an expose on all the problems together in one neat little package.

[Sports Guy]

Every sport should have instant replay.

[olehippi]

Every sport should have instant replay.

Well stated....and a big "AMEN!"

Because winning has become the most important aspect of all major sports, it should be imperative that calls made by officals be correct. Of course, instant reply, as it has done in football, removes some of the "human aspect" of the game which many people like.

[Crazy O]

There is no excuse for MLB not to have Instant Replay. Like SG said, every team of every sport in every league should have IR.