MLB Adding Replay- Finally!!!

[chinamaniac]

It's about time. I hear some of the old schoolers say let they umps make the call because they are "part of the game" and I LOL @ that every time. They finally have made a change to catch up with football on plays that can be replayed.

And they are the last of the 4 sports to make this change. Football tinkered with replay in the late 80s or early 90s and it was a mess and they finally came up with a good system and keep tweeking it. NHL started replaying goals a while back and the NBA reviews 3 pointers and technichals.

Baseball added the home run replay I believe a couple of years ago and they now have a replay system that will be voted on and I can't see why it wouldn't pass. I don't think balls and strikes will be included and if they are then they should just completely eliminate the umpire. More or less I think it will be mostly for baserunning and home runs and catches and things along those lines.

Here is the writeup from CBS

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/ey...-replay-system

[gut]

current tech could eliminate the need for umpires at all.

[General Bonkers]

It's about time. I hear some of the old schoolers say let they umps make the call because they are "part of the game" and I LOL @ that every time. They finally have made a change to catch up with football on plays that can be replayed.

And they are the last of the 4 sports to make this change. Football tinkered with replay in the late 80s or early 90s and it was a mess and they finally came up with a good system and keep tweeking it. NHL started replaying goals a while back and the NBA reviews 3 pointers and technichals.

Baseball added the home run replay I believe a couple of years ago and they now have a replay system that will be voted on and I can't see why it wouldn't pass. I don't think balls and strikes will be included and if they are then they should just completely eliminate the umpire. More or less I think it will be mostly for baserunning and home runs and catches and things along those lines.

Here is the writeup from CBS

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/ey...-replay-system

I hope it passes but it won't surprise me if it doesn't. There are still a lot of old fucks running baseball that won't like it IMO

[Sanlmar]

Red Sox vs Yankees with 3 challenges per side per game. Sounds like 4hr 30min game to me.

Proposal still needs tweaking.

[BeerAndPoker]

[Dan Druff]

Agree this would be a positive development, but also agree that they can't let teams go overboard doing this 3 times a game, or otherwise it will drag out games even longer.

In general, there has been a trend this year where games are starting to run long, which is the wrong direction given that scoring is actually lower than it used to be, thanks to the lower usage of roids.

[BeerAndPoker]

I've always thought their could be a challenge system just like the NFL has where a manager can challenge a certain amount of plays a game. I don't think two is necessary as less of these situations come up in baseball BUT lets say a manager successfully challenges then they could be left with one but if they aren't successful be out of challenges for the game. If the game goes to extra innings then any close play should be reviewed.

This isn't for balls and strikes but for bang bang plays at a base or some other random thing such as a ball hit right on the foul line that could be tough to see from the naked eye.

[JimmyG_415]

I've always thought their could be a challenge system just like the NFL has where a manager can challenge a certain amount of plays a game. I don't think two is necessary as less of these situations come up in baseball BUT lets say a manager successfully challenges then they could be left with one but if they aren't successful be out of challenges for the game. If the game goes to extra innings then any close play should be reviewed.

This isn't for balls and strikes but for bang bang plays at a base or some other random thing such as a ball hit right on the foul line that could be tough to see from the naked eye.

I think if the coach, or manager in this case, is right, he should get the flag back.
You get penalized if you are wrong in the NFL w/ a TO, but if you are right, all you get it what should have happened if the ref got it right in the first place,

and one less flag.

[BeerAndPoker]

I still remember this one from a couple years ago. It was one of the worst blown calls I've ever seen that happened in the 19th inning. Clearly the umpire (Jerry Meals) just wanted to go home.

[chinamaniac]

I think it is fucked up that teams can challenge only once in the 1st 6 innings and twice after that. The first 6 innings mean just as much as the 7th 8th and 9th

They should just give teams 2 challenges per game or maybe 3 max

I can see certain instances where some managers will drag games on intentionally to possibly freeze a pitcher who is in a groove

[tony bagadonuts]

current tech could eliminate the need for umpires at all.

Let's hope so because they are the fucking worst. From little league through MLB they are just god awful.

[Anal_Hershiser]

Oh boy, now games get to drag on for 5+ hours. How exciting! They've managed just fine for the last century. Umpires have no doubt made some terrible calls. But when you consider that 30 teams play a total of 4,860 games during a season, you realize they do a pretty fucking good job. It all evens out in the end anyway. Instant replay in MLB is just as fucking stupid as Inter-league play. As others have mentioned, what fucking use are umpires now? If you want perfection, which is the goal of instant replay, why not just make the "ESPN K Zone" official? Add some sensors to the outfield fences that can instantly tell where a ball was hit? Add sensors on the bases that can distinguish between the offensive and defensive player to tell who reached the base first? Christ, just leave it the fuck alone. Ask the Packers how instant replay is working in the NFL.

[SrslySirius]

Trying to support your argument by claiming that replay has been anything but a positive change for the NFL makes it impossible take you seriously.

[Anal_Hershiser]

Trying to support your argument by claiming that replay has been anything but a positive change for the NFL makes it impossible take you seriously.

The point is that even with replay, mistakes will still happen. Why change something that has worked for 100+ years and is a huge part of the game? Having instant replay just makes the refs/umpires even worse because they become overly dependent on it. You think the umps are bad now, wait until they know they can always rely on a replay.

How many times have you been watching a game where a replay is shown, and the announcers who are looking at the same replay both have different opinions? How many times have you heard the announcers agree unanimously, but the ref on the field sees it the other way, even though they are all seeing the same fucking replay? All you have accomplished is taking the judgment away from the ref on the field, and transferring it to the replay official upstairs. These things STILL come down to a HUMANS interpretation of what they are seeing. Even with replay, the guy making the call upstairs is still a referee, who may interpret things completely different than a colleague.

How long has the technology been available? Why is it just now being expanded? Because people a lot smarter than you, or me, knew there were issues. If you think that instant replay in the NFL has been nothing but a good thing, and dragging an MLB game between PIT/MIA for 5 hours is a good thing merely because it creates the illusion that things have improved, I can't take YOU seriously. But I guess I never really did anyway.

[SrslySirius]

You're putting words in my mouth. I don't really have an opinion on MLB getting replay. Initially I'd probably lean toward favoring it, but some of the you points you made about it were very convincing. Then you declare NFL replay a failure because the Packers lost a game one time, so I have to lol and reconsider everything.

[tony bagadonuts]

Instant replay in MLB is just as fucking stupid as Inter-league play.

What the the hell does one have to do with the other?? The reason it hasn't been implemented yet is that crotchety, crusty old traditionalists have resisted any changes to the game regardless of the fact that for the most part baseball still uses 100 year old technology. We live in the future, why not utilize the technology available to at least try to minimize the big, game impacting mistakes.

As others have mentioned, what fucking use are umpires now? If you want perfection, which is the goal of instant replay, why not just make the "ESPN K Zone" official? Add some sensors to the outfield fences that can instantly tell where a ball was hit? Add sensors on the bases that can distinguish between the offensive and defensive player to tell who reached the base first?

I've said the same for years. The moving, inconsistent, judgmental strike zone is a joke at any level. It'd be like basketball being played not with basketball hoops, but with different size men standing on a ladder making a hoop with their arms.

[mulva]

who the fuck cares how long it takes. the most important thing is to get the call right. I don't care if they get 9-10 correct , and over the course of a season this is considered good work. when the technology is there to get every call right it should be used.

[manowar]

Comparing replay in the NFL and MLB is apples and oranges. In the NFL the play is over you throw the flag and the whole play is reviewed and can be corrected if need be. In MLB there are going to be way to many live ball plays that you aren't going to know what would have happened if the call was made correctly. i.e. The bases are loaded with 2 out. The hitter hits a line drive down the left field line that is ruled foul, but replay shows the ball was fair. Where do you place the runners? Stolen bases are always bang bang. Now you are going to see managers challenging every steal in the 8th or 9th if they have challenges left. We all see double plays where the shortstop comes off the bag just before he catches the ball then makes the throw to first. What if there was first and third with one out when this phantom double play occurred, but the runner on third didnt cross the plate because he saw the double play happen? Do you just give the team the run? You are going to see plays where there are runners on base and a line drive is hit at an outfielder and it ruled a catch but replay shows he trapped it. Where do you place the runners?

[tony bagadonuts]

Watching the LL world series right now. Just had a review of a close play at 1st. The ump called him safe, I thought he was out. There was a challenge, the ump took 30 seconds to review, the call was upheld and the game continued. Replay showed that he was safe.

If any of you have seen the new 360 degree cameras they'll be using in MLB, the thought that they shouldn't use replay to get it right is preposterous.

[son of lockman]

Sounds good for the game.