Instant Replay: The End of Major League Baseball as We Know It

It looks like instant replay in major league baseball games is a forgone conclusion and it will be here by August.

The beauty of the game is the human element. The game has rules here were meant to be followed,  (unless you can break them),  but it also allows for judgment, cunning, and conniving.

The spitball is illegal but great pitchers work feverishly to find ways to doctor the ball. At least I hope they do.

It is illegal to steal signs but the runner on second is doing his best to relay the catcher's signal to the batter.

Any outfielder worth his salt always makes the catch of the sinking line drive by rolling over and raising his glove triumphantly. It does not matter if he trapped the ball. It does not matter that the replay shows he trapped the ball. What is important is the success of the deception at that moment so that the umpire calls the batter out.

The deception does not stop on defense. Credit the batter who trots confidently to first base in an effort to convince the umpire that the last pitch was either ball four or perhaps had hit him.

It is the pitcher walking off the mound in an effort to convince the same umpire that the last pitch was strike three.

Umpires falling victim to these tricks are as much a part of the game as are their most infamous calls. The game is meaningless without the failure on the umpire to call fan interference when Steve Bartman reached for the foul ball.

That may have been the correct call but we all appreciate the umpire's horrible call that gave Derek Jeter a home run in game 1 of the 1996 American League playoffs.

 

Umpires' mistakes like home runs that appear to wrap around the foul pole or calling out runners who clearly beat the throw home are part of the game.

I can see it now. It is the top of the 5th inning and the clean up batter has a 3-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded. The batter takes the pitch and the umpire calls it a strike as the ball drifts outside. The batter drags his bat muttering under his breath something about the umpire's relatives and suddenly the arm goes up to the sky and Dave Ortiz  is summarily tossed from the game.

Instant replay shows the pitch was a ball, the batter is given first base and reinstated into the game.

Instant replay will end the game as we know it. First they will only use it for select plays such as the home run or the play at the plate. Eventually it will be used for calling balls and strikes. Finally the game will be perfected when the umpires are replaced by lasers, a gps, and microchips.

There are two problems with the game today. It takes too long and the expensive hot dogs stink. The instant replay will lengthen the time of the game, increase the price of the hot dog, and do nothing to improve its taste.

Phooey.

Comments

[Clinton]

Oh, come on, Paul. A slippery-slope argument? Really?

Wait until they replace the players with robots. Now THAT will be a game!

[Dan Sebald]

The catcher pulls the glove back into the strike zone after the ball is in the mitt... If it looks like a perfect pitch low and inside, the batter jumps back acting as though being brushed... Reggie Jackson leans into the relay from second to first... Joe Niekro flings the emery board half-way to second when he turns his pockets inside out... Billy Martin waits until George Brett hits a home run to come out and complain about pine tar too high on the bat...

[Tim M.]

Paul, I think they're ONLY talking about "instant replay" for HOME RUN calls...not balls and strikes, not pickoff plays, not plays at the plate, or anything else. I agree it's a step toward hell, but perhaps the discussion will serve to make the umps who've blown SO MANY home run calls this year to be more careful.

Imagine what "instant replay" would do to deciding hit or error! On most errors now, anybody my (our) age would rule ERROR; all the video-game generation would rule any sharply-hit ball a HIT, even if it hits the fielder in the glove and knocks him over.

We've lost this battle long ago, anyway. Happy Fathers' Day....

[Barney]

The addition of instant replay would at least give the viewers some entertainment. This is such a boring game without time limits. The instant replay would at least fill the huge voids of dead time during the game while the batter and pitcher scratch, fidgit, move their cap, shirt sleeves, feet, etc. repeatedly while the fans just want them to do something, anything! This game (doesn't deserve the title of sport), is out-of-date and needs an overhaul. It is like watching Lawrence Welk!

[jon]

Being screwed over by some bad calls, I'd rather have the right call. Is football dead from instant replay? Nope.

[diwhflq]

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