MLB Instant Replay

[dbackjon]

MLB is using instant replay for homerun calls (saw it used once at a Dback game, the umps had it right), but I think it should be expanded. Two badly blown calls in the past week, one helping the Dbacks, one that cost the Dbacks a game in the past week have driven this home.

Last week, Dbacks had two outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd, tie game. Mark Reynolds hits a ball deep to short. Shortstop throws to first (meanwhile, runner on 3rd scores). Reynolds beats the throw by several feet, but is called out. Replay clearly shows Mark's foot on the base, and the ball barely in the frame.

Last night, Dbacks had runners on 1st and 3rd, two outs, tie game. Tony Clark hits slicing ball that was called fair in the left field corner. Replay showed clearly that it was a foul ball. Dbacks score two, and next batter gets Clark home.


Opinions?

[TwinTownBisonFan]

MLB is using instant replay for homerun calls (saw it used once at a Dback game, the umps had it right), but I think it should be expanded. Two badly blown calls in the past week, one helping the Dbacks, one that cost the Dbacks a game in the past week have driven this home.

Last week, Dbacks had two outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd, tie game. Mark Reynolds hits a ball deep to short. Shortstop throws to first (meanwhile, runner on 3rd scores). Reynolds beats the throw by several feet, but is called out. Replay clearly shows Mark's foot on the base, and the ball barely in the frame.

Last night, Dbacks had runners on 1st and 3rd, two outs, tie game. Tony Clark hits slicing ball that was called fair in the left field corner. Replay showed clearly that it was a foul ball. Dbacks score two, and next batter gets Clark home.


Opinions?

no.

replay is evil... i dont even like it for what it's there for... i think MLB needs to resist the temptaton to become more like the NFL...

bad calls are a part of the game, over the course of the season they even out.

it's a question of where will it end? they've already opened the door... a mistake... because now there will be calls to expand it until its reviewing balls and strikes... computers are already doing enough damage to the national pastime with SABRmetrics bastards inventing new statistics to drive instinct and hunches out of the game...

[Willie]

They used the replay feature at Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago on the Sunday TBS game.

I like the idea, but I don't think it should be exclusively for home runs.

[Col Hogan]

MLB is using instant replay for homerun calls (saw it used once at a Dback game, the umps had it right), but I think it should be expanded. Two badly blown calls in the past week, one helping the Dbacks, one that cost the Dbacks a game in the past week have driven this home.

Last week, Dbacks had two outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd, tie game. Mark Reynolds hits a ball deep to short. Shortstop throws to first (meanwhile, runner on 3rd scores). Reynolds beats the throw by several feet, but is called out. Replay clearly shows Mark's foot on the base, and the ball barely in the frame.

Last night, Dbacks had runners on 1st and 3rd, two outs, tie game. Tony Clark hits slicing ball that was called fair in the left field corner. Replay showed clearly that it was a foul ball. Dbacks score two, and next batter gets Clark home.


Opinions?

no.

replay is evil... i dont even like it for what it's there for... i think MLB needs to resist the temptaton to become more like the NFL...

bad calls are a part of the game, over the course of the season they even out.

it's a question of where will it end? they've already opened the door... a mistake... because now there will be calls to expand it until its reviewing balls and strikes... computers are already doing enough damage to the national pastime with SABRmetrics bastards inventing new statistics to drive instinct and hunches out of the game...

You hit that nail squarely on the head...

[dbackjon]

Disagree with both of you, TTBF and Col.

I don't want UMPS to be part of the game. I don't want their mistakes/biases influencing outcomes.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

Disagree with both of you, TTBF and Col.

I don't want UMPS to be part of the game. I don't want their mistakes/biases influencing outcomes.

but they have since 1876... and rhubarb and ejections and clever cat calls from the hometown crowd are wonderfully enjoyable parts of the game... Lou Pinella's classic meltdowns... these are storied and wonderful traditions.

there is something unique and special about baseball... it is a thoroughly retro game, a reminder of our slower-paced beginnings, a force that has for the most part resisted the urges and temptation to give in to the cheap stunt for instant popularity. No pitch clocks, no game clocks, no accommodating demands from the attention-span challenged to "make more stuff happen faster"... and that's what is so great about baseball.

It's also what has been so profoundly disappointing about Bud Selig's time as commissioner. everything he's done feels like a cheap stunt. taking the meaning out of a 162-game regular season by permitting the freaking wild card... permanently killing the day lcs and ws games... allowing the steroid era to go unchecked and storied records to fall in the name of "bringing fans back to the game" after he and his owner pals drove them off by trying to cram a salary cap in to a league that doesn't really need one. the all-star game, in all of it's exhibition nonsense now determines home field in the postseason... instead of the team with the better regular season record.... stupid. and now replay, another giveaway to football... another way of changing the game for the sake of "modernizing" because "casual" fans just cannot live with the delightfully amusing blown call from time to time.

look... the 1985 World Series would be almost entirely forgettable... if it weren't for Don Denkinger... now it's part of baseball lore. Or Terry Tata calling Ron Gant out after he fell off first base in 1991... legendary. hell, Jackie Robinson stealing home on Yogi Berra... if we'd had replay... he'd probably be called out, and we'd be deprived a classic moment. we wouldn't know the name Jeffrey Maier and Tony Tarasco would be a forgotten rightfielder... and baseball would be poorer for it. It's the one game that truly, passionately loves and embraces it's history... including it's mistakes. and that's what makes it unique and great.

point being... MLB has already done enough in the last 20 years to turn the game in to the damned NFL in all it's obscene revenue and mandated mediocrity... it'd be really nice if they'd leave the game a few things that would make it recognizable to a fan from 1903.

[FargoBison]

Aren't baseball games long enough? I don't even want to think about having to sit through every play being looked at again, close calls are just a part of the game.

[slycat]

College football has done it the best. Guys upstairs watch and make the call if it needs to be reviewed. I don't like how the NFL does it.

[JMU DJ]

Aren't baseball games long enough?

This complaint is completely erroneous... have you ever sat through an NFL or College football game that is being nationally broadcast? It fucking sucks, commercial breaks take all the air out of the stadium... one second your screaming trying to make as much noise while the opponents on offense and the next your trying to figure out why everyone is standing around. Baseball on the other hand has scheduled breaks between the innings and networks sync up with that.

As for replay, I think it's valid on critical calls in the game but should only be reviewed much like Slycat mentioned in the college style. But if this replay gets out of hand it could really screw the game. I mean, seriously... who am I supposed to direct my hate slurs towards if the Ump isn't making the calls anymore... I don't know where the replay booth is in the stadium.

[FargoBison]

Aren't baseball games long enough?

This complaint is completely erroneous... have you ever sat through an NFL or College football game that is being nationally broadcast? It **** sucks, commercial breaks take all the air out of the stadium... one second your screaming trying to make as much noise while the opponents on offense and the next your trying to figure out why everyone is standing around. Baseball on the other hand has scheduled breaks between the innings and networks sync up with that.

As for replay, I think it's valid on critical calls in the game but should only be reviewed much like Slycat mentioned in the college style. But if this replay gets out of hand it could really screw the game. I mean, seriously... who am I supposed to direct my hate slurs towards if the Ump isn't making the calls anymore... I don't know where the replay booth is in the stadium.

So you want commercial breaks so umps can look at replays now? I don't see how my point is erroneous, replays would just extend the game more. Save the replays for home runs, you open it up too much and the game will be wrecked.

[JMU DJ]

So you want commercial breaks so umps can look at replays now? I don't see how my point is erroneous, replays would just extend the game more. Save the replays for home runs, you open it up too much and the game will be wrecked.

No, just saying the commercial breaks during a baseball game are much different than a football game. During a baseball game you don't notice because the teams are just warming up in the field between the tops and bottoms of innings. In football, CBS or NBC will cut in during the middle of a crucial drive when your team is on the goal line with 3rd and inches... it's ridiculous.

Much like what I was saying, and I agree with you, save replay for crucial calls... anything else (strikes, balls, safe, out, etc) and you start tampering... then you'd extend the game and kill it.

[FargoBison]

So you want commercial breaks so umps can look at replays now? I don't see how my point is erroneous, replays would just extend the game more. Save the replays for home runs, you open it up too much and the game will be wrecked.

No, just saying the commercial breaks during a baseball game are much different than a football game. During a baseball game you don't notice because the teams are just warming up in the field between the tops and bottoms of innings. In football, CBS or NBC will cut in during the middle of a crucial drive when your team is on the goal line with 3rd and inches... it's ridiculous.

Much like what I was saying, and I agree with you, save replay for crucial calls... anything else (strikes, balls, safe, out, etc) and you start tampering... then you'd extend the game and kill it.

I agree with that, especially in regards to the NFL, all replays are is another excuse to take 2-3 minutes and run commercials. I definitely agree with slycat, college has a much better replay system, I don't think I'll ever understand why the ref has to go watch on a little screen under a hood when he can just call somebody and have them say that he is right or wrong.

[AZGrizFan]

Aren't baseball games long enough?

This complaint is completely erroneous... have you ever sat through an NFL or College football game that is being nationally broadcast? It fucking sucks, commercial breaks take all the air out of the stadium... one second your screaming trying to make as much noise while the opponents on offense and the next your trying to figure out why everyone is standing around. Baseball on the other hand has scheduled breaks between the innings and networks sync up with that.

As for replay, I think it's valid on critical calls in the game but should only be reviewed much like Slycat mentioned in the college style. But if this replay gets out of hand it could really screw the game. I mean, seriously... who am I supposed to direct my hate slurs towards if the Ump isn't making the calls anymore... I don't know where the replay booth is in the stadium.

A televised baseball game is significantly shorter than a televised football game. No doubt about it.

[clenz]

This complaint is completely erroneous... have you ever sat through an NFL or College football game that is being nationally broadcast? It fucking sucks, commercial breaks take all the air out of the stadium... one second your screaming trying to make as much noise while the opponents on offense and the next your trying to figure out why everyone is standing around. Baseball on the other hand has scheduled breaks between the innings and networks sync up with that.

As for replay, I think it's valid on critical calls in the game but should only be reviewed much like Slycat mentioned in the college style. But if this replay gets out of hand it could really screw the game. I mean, seriously... who am I supposed to direct my hate slurs towards if the Ump isn't making the calls anymore... I don't know where the replay booth is in the stadium.

A televised baseball game is significantly shorter than a televised football game. No doubt about it.

A televised football game takes on average 3.5 hours. Of that 3.5 hours there is only 12 minutes of actual football game play.

[AZGrizFan]

A televised baseball game is significantly shorter than a televised football game. No doubt about it.

A televised football game takes on average 3.5 hours. Of that 3.5 hours there is only 12 minutes of actual football game play.

It's really amazing. And to bring it back on topic, I agree with TTBF. Not a fan of Instant Replay.