I'm sure you heard about the Armando Gallaraga perfect game fiasco where the umpire blew the call on THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME. I've been wanting this for years now, if not decades. Unfortunately, it would take something like this to move things.
Hopefully NOW the umpires and/or MLB will agree on some way to implement instant replay to handle instances like this. I don't know how - red phone hot line, replay machine for umpires similar to when they are trying to figure out whether a home run is hit or not, whatever - mainly because this is something that will be negotiated to death by all concerned, but something has to be done to prevent such a travesty again.
I understand that umpires are not perfect. But in such a situation, something has to be allowed to make things right.
What about balls and strikes?, or non-calls such as having a camera on the pitcher at all times and a team allowed to protest a balk not being called?
ReplyDeleteMake foul territory equal in each ballpark too, so that there are same # of foul outs and hitters getting second chances when a ball lands in the seats.
Baseball is the only sport with what seems, outside of the infield, undefined measurements.
I guess I thought it would be clear that the instances where it can be used would be limited, but I can see that I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see - and I went for brevity (for once :^) on my post because I wanted to get it out and I was short on time - is basically some system where each manager has one play he can call for the instant replay to be used. That will slow down the game no more than when they pull out the instant replay to see if a homer was actually a homer (or vice-versa) or when the TV station decides that they want another set of commercial shoved into the broadcast.
I would not want any balls and strikes to be subject to instant replay. Nor would I want to see it used in any circumstance, like it was owed to the manager. Maybe instead of one per game, the team has N that they can use during the season, so they have to choose well. Like I said, a lot of people's fingers will be in the pot, so I don't know what is palatable to all. But a system like this is necessary for certain plays.
It has to be a close play of some sort, an important play to the game in some way. The three umps other than the ump involved in the play can be the arbiter of what play works, but the manager would be the one to start the process of determination.
Unless the balk forces in the tying or winning run, I don't think I would allow that.
I think it would be ridiculous to make the foul territory the same in each ballpark, that is one of the beauty of major league baseball, but I can't tell if you are serious, Anon, or not, so I'm addressing how I feel about that.
If you want to go that far, you also put weights on the more athletic, glasses that warps the vision of those with better eyes, make each park the same dimension - not just foul area - so that hitters hit a homerun, it is a homerun in every park.
I just think that is just ridiculous, a Harrison Bergeron-ing of baseball. Baseball has traditions that you want to keep, but allowing obviously wrong decisions to rob someone of immortality - Gallaraga would have been one of only 21 pitchers to have done this - is just as ridiculous when we have the technology to help better judge what really happened.
Let's take ball and strikes. We currently have the technology to have machines do all of them very accurately. I wouldn't want to do that. That would take some of the soul away from the game.
ReplyDeleteHowever, what I would do is grade all the umpires on how well they hew to that strikezone. If someone has a lot of trouble calling the strikezone every game, I want the league to be able to put that guy in remedial umpire school or demote him to the minors. Or if someone has a floating strikezone, like the one in the Giants game a couple of weeks ago, the league has to have the ability to do something to prevent that from happening.
The union prevents much from happening of anything to incumbents. The league has no recourse. The union enforces mediocre talent because nobody is pushed in any way to be better.
There has to be some system where the league can come down on an umpire when he's not following the rules, whether suspension without pay, demotion to the minors, or, ultimately, expulsion. The union prevents that.
Just like the players, the umps do not have a right to be there: it is a privilege. If they abuse that privilege, then they can leave and find another job. I would not have allowed Steve Howe to come back from cocaine abuse 7 (or many more) times. There would be blood samples from every player start and end of season, stored, and if future advanced testing methods detect illegal usage in the past, the league should have some recourse, whether it be the player loses his pension (if earned) or he has to return some of the money he had earned before, say 25% or something.
I'm also tired of umpires who think that are the show. Anything they do is additive to my enjoyment of the game, but ultimately, push come to shove, it is the ballplayers who I want to see and hear about, not the umpires.
Some are against replay, stating wanting to keep human element in game. That's funny, players play the game, and replay is in game for HR.
ReplyDeleteSomehow having replay for HR calls have not de-humanized baseball yet.
FYI, I'm trying out Twitter now @obsgiantscompul (unfortunately, they don't allow my long handle and ogc was already taken...). Not sure if I'll keep it up or my frequency, but it's there now. :^)
Well, MLB uses a humidor in Denver. Reasons for doing so the same as adjusting foul territory, stats being skewed.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only person who don't entirely understand Anon's point? Or maybe Homer-ing in Sweet Tom's for lunch has me on a carb high this afternoon. Are you for or agin?
ReplyDeleteYes, Colorado uses the humidor, so yes, the MLB is already doing things to even things up regarding offense there. So why not implement instant replay?
Pat the Bat's appear to be coming to town. Amy G of CSN Twittered that John Bowker has been sent down. There's nobody really to bring up except for Pat Burrell.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/AmyGGiants/status/15375185872