|
I know baseball traditionalists and perhaps most umpires will not like instant reply, however, I'm in favor of a LIMITED application of it (similar to the NBA). I'm sure they will thoroughly scrutinze what type of plays are reviewable and there is nothing wrong if homeruns and fair/fouls are considered plays that can be looked at. Afterall, think of how bad Richie Garcia felt after looking at the replays after the game which showed he infact made an incorrect ruling. If instant replay was used on that play, the call would have been reversed and the runners placed accordingly - nobody says anything. Instead, the whole world watching on TV knew he made a mistake and they buried Garcia for it - and he probably felt like crap because NO umpire wants to make an incorrect call that decides the outcome of the game.
I would hope that MLB consults the umpire supervisors when making this decision but I believe, in certain situations, instant replay may save a lot of grief for umpires in the long run - ask Don Denkinger.
Just my opinion - I'm sure many of you will disagee.
|