Instant Replay?
November 7, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Odds and Ends
Was that a home run or not? If big-league general managers have their way, umpires soon will be able to consult video replay if needed.
Well, maybe not soon.
The GMs voted 25-5 in favor of implementing such a system to help in determining home runs, fair/foul calls, and fan interference. Next steps are to get approval from team owners, the MLBPA, and the umpires.
Like I said, maybe not so soon.
I have mixed feelings about bringing instant replay to baseball. On the one hand, I’d like to see the right call made (can we extend this to non-tags at home plate?). On the other, does the game really need to be any slower than it already is?
I mean, I’ll sit at the ballpark all day because I’m a freak who really would rather be no place else, but a lot of folks have actual lives and don’t want to sit around waiting for some guy up in a booth to watch a replay.
Maybe this is just my inner curmudgeon speaking and my concerns are unfounded. I guess if replay works in the NFL, it could work in baseball.
Put me in the “undecided” camp for now. What do you think?
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Like you, I’m torn. On the one hand, a greater degree of accuracy and consistency is desirable. On the other, the time issue is a genuine concern. Another concern is abusing the replay. If every pitch or play has to be reviewed then the game will become ridiculous. One thing I would be in favor of is the use of the replay for the game scorer in determining errors, but otherwise it seems there are pitfalls in every scenario. In the end, does having the replay outweigh the disadvantages of not having the replay? Will it benefit the game? I don’t see it as a factor in drawing fans to the ballpark, so I expect MLB to move glacially, if at all, towards adopting the replay. I wouldn’t mind seeing a test scenario, say during spring training or inter-league only play, that tries a limited use of replay. Confine each manager to two replay requests a game, or something that doesn’t make it’s use completely laughable. Whatever happens, probably no one will be happy, which is how everybody feels when they don’t like a call anyway.