[Jim Porter]

ABC and ESPN continue to report that it was a cell phone call that had the parents yelling for an appeal in the NY vs. CA US semi-final game. I've heard it reported on ESPN, ESPN2, and today during the fifth inning of the U.S. Championship Game on ABC.

I think it coincides with the order of events perfectly. There were a few moments when no one was yelling for an appeal, and it looked as though the defense had completely missed it. Just a few moments later, and the stands were going nuts trying to the message across to the players.

I firmly believe that immediate TV replays and cell phones played a role in riling the crowd enough to convince the defense to appeal. In reality, maybe one or two people in the stands might've actually witnessed the missed base. Under normal circumstances, these people might not be vocal enough or even confident enough in what they saw to convince a crowd to vocalize and set the defense's appeal in motion.

But a cell phone, coupled with immediate and repeated replays, gave those parents conclusive proof. From there, it was a small matter of moments before the whole crowd was in on what was happening.

This is unprecedented in baseball. Previously, some pro teams would employ a runner who would emerge from the clubhouse armed with the information from TV replays to communicate to the manager whether or not his argument was valid. If it was valid, the runner would emerge from the tunnel, and the manager would then know with certainty that the umpire blew the call. This would normally lead to an ejection.

But for television and cell phones to play such a big role in affecting the actions on the field, to me, is a bit much. I'm quite uncomfortable with that idea, and I hope Little League addresses this dilemma for future World Series contests.