On Replay in Baseball
July 16, 2008 Posted by RenoAccording to the latest news we could be seeing Video Review influencing MLB umpires’ decision making as early as this year’s Fall Classic. I figure now is the time to weigh in on this touchy topic.
On allowing video review to influence or reverse an umpire’s call, I’ll quote Roy Munson (when asked what the Bible says about not forgiving people) to state my case, "It’s against it." That’s right I’m against it, and I’ll tell you why.
Firstly, that’s right firstly; the slippery slope keeps me from taking the first step. I understand that, for now, the MLB wishes to limit replay to the scope of deciding whether or not a batted ball is a homerun when the initial call on the field is suspect. Maybe I’m a pessimist but I see grim days in our future. Sure today it’s, "is it a homer or not?" but tomorrow it’s a small laser emitter in the ball and an infrared projected strike zone. Now I say this with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, but you have to ask yourself where it will end. I mean, take tennis for example: that sport is about half a step away from doing away with human calls all together. As of right now the sport has a challenge system, but the technology is so good it can make every In/Out call with perfection.
B, this seems to me to be a lot like the institution of the DH. Since the game has become so offensively driven, double entendre intended, those that manage said game don’t want in falters in the Homerun smash-fest that it has become. The DH changed the strategy of the game. Some, including myself, would say it removed a healthy dose of the strategy of the game completely. I think the same of replay. Baseball has always been a game of close calls and finding something deep down that allows one to overcome the adversity of calls going the other way. Remove the chance of a call going the wrong way and I believe you take some of the drama of the game with it.
Three, and most important to me, the institution of replay removes the innately human aspect of the game. Maybe this is close to me because I spent some time umpiring, but I think that baseball has always and should always be a sport officiated by humans. No other sport creates the same relationship between participant and officiator, and that is at the core of what makes the game great; from a pitcher establishing a Plate Umpire’s strike zone to the Second base Umpire being right on top of that gun down throw. A human should in my mind always be there to make the call, be it a good one or a bad one. Some times the calls will be close, and a good umpire will make few mistakes and learn from the ones he does make. A good baseball player will relish the chance to overcome the adversity of a call that didn’t go his way.
All in all I think this road leads somewhere I don’t want to see this sport I love travel, but in the end I just write about it.
RKW
I see where you’re coming from. However, I disagree. If we can make the system perfect to the point where there are no bad calls, it needs to be done. I can’t buy into the idea that bad calls are what makes the game great. Bad calls suck. Plain and simple, at least for me. But if this whole replay thing never gets done, then the system we have now will be the best system, and we won’t have anything to complain about.
Comment by Brian — July 17, 2008 @ 1:28 am
After thinking about it for a while, I agree with you, but not for the same reasons. I identify most with your tennis argument, because I can’t stand the arbitrary rules that accompany the technology. If the umpire gets the call wrong twice, the player can’t challenge it twice? I think the same thing, although to a lesser extent, with football. I also agree with Brian, though, that bad calls aren’t what make the game great.
Baseball has always been a sport of subjectivity. The strike zone is defined in the rulebook, but it is up to each individual umpire to interpret it. Remember the Questec system? I’m glad that didn’t last long. Having said that, the home run is not one of those subjective rules. There is no borderline home run in the same way that there is a borderline strike. IF baseball figures out a foolproof way to impose replay for objective plays only (like the home run), then I am for it. However, the proposed system is far from foolproof, and seems to be nothing more than an umpire replacement. I say have a six-man umpiring crew at all games and don’t do replay.
Comment by Robert — July 24, 2008 @ 8:08 pm