Tonight, around 7:00pm, everything changes.
Call me a purist, but I don't think instant replays belong in baseball; it’s that human element, the possibility of error, that makes the game what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen some pretty bad calls but that’s all part of the game. One of the reasons I can’t stand watching football is because of all the video replays and associated game delays (the tight pants do make it more tolerable but that’s another topic altogether). Sure the time spent reviewing calls is negligible (3 minutes at the most according to The Star) but will there be a limit to the number of times coaches can ask for a play to be reviewed? In football teams risk loosing a timeout if the challenge is not in their favour so that acts as a sort of check and balance to keep coaches from questioning every play that doesn’t go their way. What will they take away in baseball?
If umpires know that their calls can always be reviewed then what is there to keep them motivated to keep their eye on the ball? It seems almost disrespectful to put their ability into question, especially umpires who have been calling games since the glory days of the Jays at the CNE. Baseball has done well for over a century, so what has changed now to reverse the decade long opposition to instant replays?
There are those who argue that a miss-judged foul ball could change the outcome of a game, and even a playoff hope for some teams. (Check this out for an infamous example.) But really, isn’t that part of what we all love about the baseball? Half the fun is yelling at the TV and booing an umpire when he sees a strike as a ball, or a calls a player out who clearly beat the tag. And how funny is it to watch coaches kick sand on umpires and get right up in their faces to argue calls that they know will never be reversed? We all know that later on in the game he will make an equally unfair call for the other team and balance will be restored.
Right now the use of video footage for reviewing questionable calls will be limited in scope. It will only be applied to foul balls, home runs, and issues of fan interference, which I can somewhat agree with. It can be tough for baseline umpires to accurately judge balls that are hit way out there and over the foul posts, but where do you draw the line? Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in The Star yesterday that “there has been some concern that if you start here, look what it’s going to lead to” but he assures us that as long as he is Commissioner, that won’t be an issue.
Baseball is the last professional sport to institute the “instant replay” aspect to the game (The NFL was first in 1986, and even Wimbledon has hopped on the bandwagon to determine line calls). Maybe it’s time we embrace technology and take advantage of what is out there to make the sport better. Or maybe we should just leaves things be and stick with the time honoured tradition.
Read what some of the Jays had to say here, and tell me what you think. Is this new idea a good call, or am I way off base?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
i think installing replays is a good idea. i'm not sure what the rules are as of now but i think that the home plate umpire should have the final call as to whether or not a play gets reviewed. and as for that jeter homer, whatever, the yankees have always been cheaters and they've always been able to get away with it. good post.
Post a Comment