# MLB : Calls for instant replay gains more momentum



## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3405522


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## CUDAHY (Apr 21, 2007)

Sounds like a consensus is growing on fair/foul or yellow home run line calls. I've already seen three missed calls this year watching the RedSox games. The umpires are too far away to make reliable calls on these. The simplest way would be to allow either manager to challenge one call a game. Everyone watching a replay on TV knows when there's a missed call.


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## cdizzy (Jul 29, 2007)

This is a toughy for me. I understand a need but I really don't like the idea. 

This is the way it has been done for over a hundred years and I just can't understand why it's an issue now. I don't know, maybe have it for playoff games only??? 

I'm just affraid that they will start using it for safe/out calls at the bases as well.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

I don't see instant reply belonging in baseball for anything besides possibly determining if a ball is foul or fair over the outfield wall or to determine if the ball was interferred with by a fan at the wall. 

I would not want to see instant replay used for balls/strikes or calls at any base.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

n3ntj said:


> I don't see instant reply belonging in baseball for anything besides possibly determining if a ball is foul or fair over the outfield wall or to determine if the ball was interferred with by a fan at the wall.
> 
> I would not want to see instant replay used for balls/strikes or calls at any base.


Exactly right. This isn't the NFL where everything's moving a mile a minute in a dozen different places on the field of play. It's a fairly simple sport that the umps should be able to wrap their collective heads arouind on the spot without the use of technology.


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## mince (Jan 19, 2007)

If replay in MLB should be like College Football....Have a fifth umpire/consultant in the pressbox and I agree should only be for the obvious blown calls on the bases, questionable catches and fair/foul. Don't even let the managers or umpires on the field be able to access.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I remember being in Montreal and at the ball park to see Vladimir Guerrero get robbed of being the next "40/40" guy. From our seat down the 1st base line, it was easy to see that his fly ball had hit the scoreboards above and behind the right-field fence but the umpires only saw a ball that caromed off SOMETHING and land on the warning track.

I have to agree with the idea of "only the boundary calls" (fair/foul, home run or not). And you can't reverse a call where the umpire said it was a home run because the batter then goes into a trot and you lose whatever 'would have happened'.


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## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

I'm against replay. I really don't want baseball to go there.

I do support the QuestTec system that monitors the accuracy of umpires calling balls and strikes, but I don't want it to be used during the game to reverse calls.


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## jimbo09 (Sep 26, 2006)

durl said:


> I'm against replay. I really don't want baseball to go there.
> 
> I do support the QuestTec system that monitors the accuracy of umpires calling balls and strikes, but I don't want it to be used during the game to reverse calls.


A couple umpires down the line (just like the World Series) who could run from the foul lines to center field in a few seconds should suffice. I mean are we really talking about that many calls for homerun. That might be acceptable to traditionalist.

Baseball calls like tags at second base for runners caught stealing and force outs on double plays need to be more heavily scrutinized. It would not kill the game if double plays were less rare (i.e. if the 2nd basemen doesn't actually tag the bag, the runner is not actually out), and stolen bases were. Right now, an ump can blow a call at second base and the "tradition" is that "the throw beat the runner", or a "phantom tag" is O.K. So when they blow a big call at 1st base, why get so upset, you've already allowed outs that weren't really outs at second.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

MLB's executive vice president of baseball operations and MLB's executive vice president of labor relations are pushing for some sort of instant replay policy to be put in place by August of this year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080614/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_instant_replay


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

durl said:


> I'm against replay. I really don't want baseball to go there.
> 
> I do support the QuestTec system that monitors the accuracy of umpires calling balls and strikes, but I don't want it to be used during the game to reverse calls.


Questec is an absolute joke. If you think it can "accurately" measure umpires' performance, you've got a lot to learn.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3533985


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

Lord Vader said:


> Questec is an absolute joke. If you think it can "accurately" measure umpires' performance, you've got a lot to learn.


Correct.. Questec only grades an umpire after the fact that he called a pitch a strike when it was a ball or vise versa. Questec doesn't ensure calls on the field, during the game, are correctly called. I am against reply for on the field calls, other than if a home run is really a home run or not. Anything else, I think baseball is walking a very tight rope.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

n3ntj said:


> Correct.. Questec only grades an umpire after the fact that he called a pitch a strike when it was a ball or vise versa.


That's not why it's inaccurate. It cannot judge a pitch a ball or strike in the same manner as we who are behind the plate. Questec in its best form "sees" pitches from off-center and on an angle far removed from the strike zone.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3535339


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## Laker44 (Jun 18, 2008)

Having an incorrect call on the bases or balls and strikes is just as important as a homerun call.Either make it where everything can be reviewed or nothing at all.3 calls that are still been debated today would not be covered. Don Denkinger controversial call in the 1985 World Series and controversial play involving Carlton Fisk and the Ed Armbrister in 1975 World Series.And the whether Reggie Jackson interferenced with ball in game 4 of the 1978 World Series. All of those plays if they would've been called different could've changed the outcome of the world Series.


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

It seems that this is another one of those "politically correct" type of decisions. Football is a 16 game season. A bad call here and there can cost a team the playoffs. With a 162 game season, those bad calls are not nearly as relevant. I've seen three bad Home Run calls with the D-Backs this season, yet they are still in first place. Usually, there will be alot more than one bad call that will cause a win or loss (errors, swinging at bad pitches, bad managerial descions, etc...). Maybe this will be valuable in the playoffs, but it doesn't have a place in the regular season.


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

Instant replay, as used in the NFL and NHL, with LOOOOOOOOOOOONG delays while people huddle and talk on the telephone and then make calls is totally incompatable with the flow of baseball. What is the pitcher to do while they yammer? Just stand around?

The problem is these "retro-modern" yuppie-cutesy ballparks, with outfield fences that go higher and lower for no reason, trying immitate real old ballparks, where the fences varried for topographical reasons. And with fences that are not real constructions but lines painted on existing walls and such. Especially the monstrosity in Houston where a HR or an off-the-wall hit is impossible to call.

FIX THE PROBLEM. Replace this goo with a proper standard outfield wall where when the ball goes over it, IT STAYS THERE.

End of problem.


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## BobbySteelz (May 24, 2007)

SamC said:


> Instant replay, as used in the NFL and NHL, with LOOOOOOOOOOOONG delays while people huddle and talk on the telephone and then make calls is totally incompatable with the flow of baseball. What is the pitcher to do while they yammer? Just stand around?
> 
> The problem is these "retro-modern" yuppie-cutesy ballparks, with outfield fences that go higher and lower for no reason, trying immitate real old ballparks, where the fences varried for topographical reasons. And with fences that are not real constructions but lines painted on existing walls and such. Especially the monstrosity in Houston where a HR or an off-the-wall hit is impossible to call.
> 
> ...


I totally agree. Although I think in Houston the hill in center field is more egregious.  :lol:


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

Well people may not like replay, but the Refs calls seem to get worse every year :raspberry Also why is it that baseball fields are not the same size as they are in all other sports?


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## ccr1958 (Aug 29, 2007)

no to instant replay in baseball or any sport for that matter..IMO


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Dolly said:


> Well people may not like replay, but the Refs calls seem to get worse every year


And this coming from a fan, who possesses three things all fans have in common:

1. Ignorance of the rules
2. Bias toward their team
3. Love of antagonizing game officials

Thanks for your expert analysis of us sports officials. Any other brilliant things you can come up with?


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

So all sports officials are perfect? I've seen many bad calls both for and against my teams and some that have not only had impacts on the game, but the season, and the championship, the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals come to mind. I know the rules of the game and I have no love of antagonizing officials, being an NFL official was something I wanted to be as a kid. Just face it, officials are not always right, they get the call right most of the time but not always. The amount of bad calls, or at least the PR they get, has increased in both the NFL and NHL, the two sports I follow the most, since I've been following them.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Steve Mehs said:


> So all sports officials are perfect?


No one said we were. We're human, of course.



> The amount of bad calls, or at least the PR they get, has increased in both the NFL and NHL, the two sports I follow the most, since I've been following them.


That's a bunch of bull and you know it. It's also a rash and illogical generalization. Just because you may watch numerous games or happen to see many highlights on ESPN and see a call with which you disagree does NOT mean bad calls have "increased."


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Well, being sports official you are biased so I expect this. You're the one making rash and illogical generalizations just to trying to defend yourself or what you do. If I see more highlights of bad calls on SportsCenter then I did 10 years ago, if I see more bad calls on games that I've watched then 10 years ago what logical conclusion is there to make? And a lot of the time what I see does not affect or having any bearing on my teams, so I it's not a matter of bias. I have nothing against sports officals, so stop making it out like the world is against you.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Official review will be yet another nail in the coffin of MLB. For a
game that already averages almost 3 hours, and what with ever
more frequent pitching changes, increasing costs of broadcast
rights necessitating longer commercial breaks between innings,
anything that contributes to further delays of the game is insane.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Steve Mehs said:


> Well, being sports official you are biased


Hardly. I'm nothing but objective and impartial.

I criticize officials when they deserve it.

As a veteran NCAA baseball umpire, I am someone who is, believe it or not, unopposed to Instant Replay in a few limited circumstances at the Major League level. I think it would help in situations involving hard-to-see home runs, for example.


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## Msguy (May 23, 2003)

There could be upsides to having instant replay on certain calls in baseball. Here is my 2 cents on this situation. 1. If Baseball starts having instant replay on certain calls it would be more incentive for each team to broadcast every game on television. Most baseball games played now a days have 2 different broadcasts going to each city. Having Instant Replay would be incentive for each team to broadcast incase there team has a call go against them or something the Umpires can go and look at each broadcast to see if a call should stand or not. And Reason #2 I am all for instant replay is that i am for getting calls right. whether a ball be fair or foul or a homerun. Umps are only human and can make mistakes. Instant replay would be a positive thing on *Certain* questionable plays. I'm all for the Umps getting calls correct and if instant replay will help getting calls correct. Then I am 100% for it.


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

It's not a done deal yet,but it is now one step closer to becoming reality.

http://www.murraychass.com/?p=119

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3545338


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## brant (Jul 6, 2008)

i am completely against instant replay in baseball. unfortunately, it looks like baseball is having to bow to the demands of ignorant fans because its those people who pay the bills. its just sad to see baseball doing this.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

Looks like we'll have instant reply for fair/foul and home runs by the beginning of Sept. Seems like the umpire(s) will have to leave the field to contact MLB and review the footage. Too bad they can't have the equipment next to a dugout and watch it on the field and call the league war room to discuss, like they do in the NHL. That would speed things up.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Well, with the *Braves* on such a hot losing
(not loosing) streak, the imposition
of play-review on an already
boring sport just may be
the straw that breaks
the camel's
back for
me
.

:nono2:

I may have to find another spectator-sport to love -- what
is the season for Women's Beach Volleyball anyway?!?! :grin:


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

The ignorant fans?

Really. How about the handicapped umpires? I'm not slamming them - the umpires themselves are complaining that the oddly-dimensioned parks with their yellow stripes and bright backgrounds make some home run/foul ball calls very hard to make.

I believe the train of thought is that replay is ok for "boundary calls" but "don't bring it into the infield"


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

As a veteran umpire myself, I actually favor the use of IR at the major league level. Have you people seen some of these fences, poles, walls, etc. at many of these parks? Talking about blind spots and optical illusions!


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

ESPN is reporting that instant replay will be put into use in MLB series that start this Thursday.For now,the replay system will be used only for home run and boundary ( fair/foul ) calls.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3554357


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

Alex Rodriguez HR makes MLB history with the first use of instant replay.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080904&content_id=3417261&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

During the 6th inning of last night's game between the Dodgers and Giants,the Giants Bengie Molina's "single" turned out to be a HR after it was reviewed with instant replay.
Molina was replaced with pinch-runner Emmanuel Burris while he was standing at first base,while the play was being reviewed.
This is the first time that I have heard of an MLB player hitting a HR,but not physically touch the bases for it.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280926126&prov=ap


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

This has happened occasionally, but when the batter-runner got hurt after hitting the ball. By rule, in dead ball situations, a runner can be replaced and the new runner just resumes the injured runner's path around the bases.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

I'd vote for instant replay on Fair/Foul/HR type calls. (of course I'm jaded by Jeffrey Maier) Basically plays where the ball is out of play. I don't want to see it on the bases and never behind the plate. Why? It's not that I think the umpires are perfect...part of MLB is understand the person behind the plate and how they're going to call the game. The team/players that better adapt will do better.

That doesn't mean MLB should put up with the few umps that abuse their position...umps, like everyone else in the bigs need to be graded constantly and sent down/released if they're not doing the job on a major league level.

Unlike the NFL that uses part timers as officials...these are fulltime professionals officiating at the top of their sport...they have to be up and stay up to the challenge. Just as a hitter's eyesight or reactions can slip so can an umps in which case it's back to the minors or a career selling used cars.

The umps also need to better understand they are not the show. That's the players...call the game, and try to be invisible.

I know several umps from hanging out with the Os every spring training. By and large they are a solid group of guys doing a very tough job. Think about it...there's no such thing as a homestand for an umpire...every game is an away game and every crowd is hostile. They're not really allowed to socialize with the players or coaches so I imagine it gets a bit lonely. They deserve to make a good salary.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Being invisible isn't easy, especially since we're an integral part of the game.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Lord Vader said:


> Being invisible isn't easy, especially since we're an integral part of the game.


No, it's not easy and it's really something I would expect from the very best umpires in the world...the guys that are in the major leagues. There is a huge difference in the skill set, experience and quality of the umpires in the big leagues over those at other levels. This is not to say there are not some ML capable umpires say in A ball or at the college level, but they would be very, very few and far between.

I've worked in pro sports and the level of play, the speed at which the game is played at the top pro levels is completely different than anywhere else. The umps/refs, etc. that can do their jobs at that level are also pretty gifted and special.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Well, as an award-winning graduate of a professional umpire school, permit me to state that there _*are *_ some MLB umpires who are not as good as some of the top college umpires. Believe it or not, some MLB guys are up there for reasons having nothing to do with their abilities or quality.

I'm not speaking from jealousy or anything like that; rather, from what I know.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Lord Vader said:


> Well, as an award-winning graduate of a professional umpire school, permit me to state that there _*are *_ some MLB umpires who are not as good as some of the top college umpires. Believe it or not, some MLB guys are up there for reasons having nothing to do with their abilities or quality.
> 
> I'm not speaking from jealousy or anything like that; rather, from what I know.


I don't doubt that at all. There are some athletes that don't belong in the majors either. As I said there are some at the lower levels that could do well in the bigs...hey...many are working their way up.

One of the big things I look at with pro athletes is not their ability to be a star every so often (or call a great game), but can they perform at that high level on a consistent basis. The same can be applied...maybe moreso to umpires. You talk with major league pitchers and they can deal with any umpire that has a slighly "different" strike zone...as long as they are fair and consistent.

As Yogi said "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half physical".

BTW, I also think the umps should go back to the balloon protector and get behind the catcher .


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

I'll pretend I didn't read that last line.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

> Believe it or not, some MLB guys are up there for reasons having nothing to do with their abilities or quality.


What's so hard to believe about that? As with most things in life, I would assume the old saying of It's not what you know, but who you know applies to professional sports officials as well.


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