Disputed Calls In MLB Spur Mixed Opinions On Use Of Instant Replay

With calls for instant replay in MLB increasing after several disputed home run calls in recent weeks, THE DAILY presents a wrap-up of columns and opinions on whether the league should implement use of the technology.

NO REASON NOT TO USE IT: In Milwaukee, Tom Haudricourt wrote, "It's ridiculous for an umpire to make an improper call on a home run, the biggest play in the game. The [NFL] figured out you can't let an official miss a touchdown, and MLB should follow suit." Umpires should "be given access to a monitor to make a call in a timely fashion if there is any confusion whatsoever" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 5/25). In Chicago, Greg Couch wrote the issue is a "no-brainer. Baseball needs to use instant replay. Now. Set it up over the next two days, with a little booth in the press box for a replay umpire, use it in practice for two games and put it in use first thing next week" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 5/28). In St. Louis, Bryan Burwell: "I just want to know why baseball needs a study to determine whether instant replay can help improve its game. Why can't baseball just say it's way past time to institute replay as a useful tool, and after the All-Star break have the replay booths in place and be done with it?" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/27). SI.com's Tom Verducci wrote of umpires missing home run calls, "How exactly is this good for baseball?" Verducci: "Commissioner Bud Selig, your time to act is now. ... What Selig should do is push the umpires and the [MLBPA] to sign off on instant replay immediately, to be instituted after the All-Star break. Baseball embarrasses itself with each blown home run call in the interim and risks a playoff race decided by a clear-cut injustice" (SI.com, 5/28). CBSSPORTS.com's Gregg Doyel: "A missed call here or there doesn't seem to matter in May. And that's true. ... A mistake in October will matter a ton" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/27). In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw writes of umpires gathering to collectively determine calls, "This is a process that [MLB] needs to rid itself of, before a World Series game is determined by one of these silly umpire 'what-do-you-think-happened' chats." Cowlishaw: "The modern ballparks cry out for replay to be used on home run calls" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/29).

Will Instant Replay Solve Manager-Umpire Disputes?

BAD CALL: In West Palm Beach, Dave George wrote instant replay "slows down the game, trading the spontaneity of great athletes in the heat of competition for the specificity of technicians. ... This game is best served much rawer than that" (PALM BEACH POST, 5/27). In Westchester, Sam Borden wrote under the header "Replay Would Be A Bigger Mistake Than Blown Calls." Borden: "Instant replay is not progress. Instant replay is, on its most basic level, hypocritical and almost entirely antithetical to some of the most basic concepts baseball (and sports in general) typically embrace" (Westchester JOURNAL NEWS, 5/25). In Chicago, Rick Morrissey wrote the "best reason to say no to instant replay in baseball might seem like the silliest one: Who in his right mind wants to see the standard manager-umpire confrontation ... become extinct?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/25). In Atlanta, Terence Moore wrote under the header "Instant Replay Would Strip Baseball Of Its Soul." Moore: "No instant replay, please. Not in baseball, where breath-to-breath squabbles between umpires, managers, coaches and players are as much of the game's soul as the seventh-inning stretch, the national anthem and a box of Cracker Jack." Baseball HOFer Phil Niekro: "Umpires are human. They're going to make mistakes, and one of the thrills of a ballgame or of a season is when an umpire maybe blows one, and it could have gone either way, and the fans are getting on him" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 5/24). Orioles P Jamie Walker: "The way I look at it is, they're going to make mistakes. We're all going to make mistakes. But let the umps make the call" (Baltimore SUN, 5/25).

AN UMPIRE'S TAKE: In an e-mail to ESPN's Buster Olney, an MLB umpire said, "I can tell you there isn't an umpire out on the field that wants to miss a call and then be forced to watch the highlights the rest of the evening." On potentially adding an umpire to each crew and rotating daily into a replay oversight position, the umpire said, "The problem with adding an additional umpire to each crew speaks to the commissioner's office willingness to take on more expenses. I would rather see, if they move in this direction, take retired umpires and put them up in the replay booth. This would allow for an easy transition from field to retirement" (ESPN.com, 5/27).

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