Do you want instant replay in baseball? (1 Viewer)

[comfortably numb]

?

If you want it only on specific plays, vote yes, and discuss

 

[Statorama]

There's no good reason why it couldn't/shouldn't be used on fair/foul calls, especially home run shots. Put a camera on the pole, and if it passes on one side, it's a homer, if it passes on the other it's foul.

I wouldn't mind a "one per game" type challenge on safe/out calls on the bases. The tide of a lot of games has been turned based on a questionable base call.

I'm not in favor of that machine that calls balls and strikes.

 

[Osaurus]

Anything to slow down the game.....please yes

 

[TheWalkmen]

Hell no. Too many reasons and too lazy to list all the reasons.

 

[MAC_32]

Have an official in the booth in complete charge of overuling calls on the field. Like in college football he must buzz the home plate ump before the next play begins. Unlike college football the decision must be ready when he buzzes the home plate ump. This is only applicable for fair/foul balls and home runs, nothing else, if there's inconclusive evidence or the home plate ump is not notified in time the game continues as is without any correction. I do not believe this will slow down the game in any way if done properly.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

No.

 

[Darth Cheney]

Meh..... IMO, part of the charm that makes baseball the greatest game on the Earth is that it isn't homogenized and standardized like the other sports. No strike zone is the same, ball fields don't have to be the same size, the grounds crew can take liberties based on the talents of the home team. To start with IR...would start the decent down the slippery slop of conformity.

 

[Brat Enjoy]

If so, I think it should only be on HR calls.

 

[TheWalkmen]

Meh..... IMO, part of the charm that makes baseball the greatest game on the Earth is that it isn't homogenized and standardized like the other sports. No strike zone is the same, ball fields don't have to be the same size, the grounds crew can take liberties based on the talents of the home team. To start with IR...would start the decent down the slippery slop of conformity.

 

[comfortably numb]

Meh..... IMO, part of the charm that makes baseball the greatest game on the Earth is that it isn't homogenized and standardized like the other sports. No strike zone is the same, ball fields don't have to be the same size, the grounds crew can take liberties based on the talents of the home team. To start with IR...would start the decent down the slippery slop of conformity.

Eh, I'm not so sure it already isn't standardized "No strike zone is the same."As no pass interference call is the same, no personal foul is the same in BB. They are judgment calls."ball fields don't have top be the same"While the outfield and walls are not the same, the bases are 90' away, the mound to the plate is the same."the grounds crew can take liberties based on the talents of the home team"I'm not sure what that one means.I guess I just feel it would make the game better so I would be for it.Baseball needs to get past the "Americas sport" that it hangs it hat on for anything.Times change, the game evolves. Just because you change something doesn't mean it will deteriorate the game.Football gets it right, evaluate rules to better the game each year.We may not agree with every change, but they are trying to make their sport better every year.

 

[Clifton]

I think there should be a robotic umpire with a consistent strike zone. Although when a team complains or a manager makes a challenge the strike zone shrinks an inch or so. I think this would solve many problems.

 

[shadyridr]

There's no reason whatsoever why they cant use it just for HR calls. It should strictly be up to the umpires to challenge.

 

[Koya]

for HRs, no question. It is the most difficult call for umpires to make, the most important/gamechanging play for the most part and the most easy to correct via replay.

 

[Koya]

Meh..... IMO, part of the charm that makes baseball the greatest game on the Earth is that it isn't homogenized and standardized like the other sports. No strike zone is the same, ball fields don't have to be the same size, the grounds crew can take liberties based on the talents of the home team. To start with IR...would start the decent down the slippery slop of conformity.

Not missing OBVIOUS game changing calls = conforming? And I am a traditionalist when it comes to baseball, but this is a way to easily remedy an ill, one that is far more prevelant with today's ball park configurations as well.

 

[awesomeness]

There's no reason whatsoever why they cant use it just for HR calls. It should strictly be up to the umpires to challenge.

Agreed, home run calls only. The umps usually waste time deciding whether or not its a HR anyway, a video review wont extend the game much if at all.

 

[shadyridr]

I wouldnt bother using it for foul/fair balls in play as I rarely if ever seen an umpire get one wrong.

 

[Zow]

I see no reason why it shouldn't be used for home run balls at all. I'd like to see it implemented for close plays at first (although umps really do do a hell of a job getting those right) and for fly ball diving catches which may be traps. Of course, problem there is a stall in the game and one really can't just "play on" like they do in football. Same goes for balls down the line which may be tough to tell.

So my answer would be absolutely for home run balls, and maybe for close plays. Absolutely not for balls and strikes. Instant replay has simply been too effective in all the other sports for baseball not to adapt it too. I like tradition, but I like right calls better.

 

[TheWalkmen]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.

MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

 

[westyplz]

I see no reason why it shouldn't be used for home run balls at all. I'd like to see it implemented for close plays at first (although umps really do do a hell of a job getting those right) and for fly ball diving catches which may be traps. Of course, problem there is a stall in the game and one really can't just "play on" like they do in football. Same goes for balls down the line which may be tough to tell. So my answer would be absolutely for home run balls, and maybe for close plays. Absolutely not for balls and strikes. Instant replay has simply been too effective in all the other sports for baseball not to adapt it too. I like tradition, but I like right calls better.

Definitely You can't allow judgment calls to be reviewed when they are on top of the call. Baseball is already slow, these umps know what they're doing.I think that IR is needed for HRs and fan interference. There are some things you cannot see from the infield. I agree, just have one more person working each game and have the call ready when it's requested.

 

[Koya]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

IR is worse than the DH?????????? How could a "purist" even spout such heresy?The DH CHANGED THE RULES. Changed how teams played, how the game was played - it changed everything. From style of play to legitimacy of statistics.IR would only ensure that a call is correct or not. No one had a problem with putting a couple extra umps in the game for the playoffs.. how is that different than having an Ump man the IR booth for HR calls?

 

[TheWalkmen]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

IR is worse than the DH?????????? How could a "purist" even spout such heresy?The DH CHANGED THE RULES. Changed how teams played, how the game was played - it changed everything. From style of play to legitimacy of statistics.IR would only ensure that a call is correct or not. No one had a problem with putting a couple extra umps in the game for the playoffs.. how is that different than having an Ump man the IR booth for HR calls?

The DH was a bigger change than IR would be, you are correct. I guess the DH has been around for longer than I've been around, so I'm just used to it.

 

[SuperAwesomeDude]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

make a poll about the DH. its so stupid. im pretty sure i could manage in the AL. how hard could it be?

 

[Koya]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

IR is worse than the DH?????????? How could a "purist" even spout such heresy?The DH CHANGED THE RULES. Changed how teams played, how the game was played - it changed everything. From style of play to legitimacy of statistics.IR would only ensure that a call is correct or not. No one had a problem with putting a couple extra umps in the game for the playoffs.. how is that different than having an Ump man the IR booth for HR calls?

The DH was a bigger change than IR would be, you are correct. I guess the DH has been around for longer than I've been around, so I'm just used to it.

I despise the psuedo-baseball that is DH baseball like few things in this world. Though its better than no baseball at all.

 

[DoubleG]

There's no good reason why it couldn't/shouldn't be used on fair/foul calls, especially home run shots. Put a camera on the pole, and if it passes on one side, it's a homer, if it passes on the other it's foul.I wouldn't mind a "one per game" type challenge on safe/out calls on the bases. The tide of a lot of games has been turned based on a questionable base call.I'm not in favor of that machine that calls balls and strikes.

I agree with all 3 points. An example for point 2 - the other night in the Cubs game, at the time it was 3-2 Cubs and Kaz Mat stole second for the Atsros. Joe West was out of position and Mark Deros'a leg blocked his view of the tag. Matsui was out by at least 2 feet - this was visible clearly by every replay angle imaginiable - ecept the one that was in line with where West was viewing it from. In this case, it turned out to not matter, as the Cubs won 7-2, but at the time, it looked as though it might be a crucial point in the game.Plus, I'd love to see Lou Pinella throw a red flag and try not to look dumb doing it.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Only in the playoffs, and only for fair/foul HR balls (not for fair/foul balls down the line), and HR balls like A-Rod's last night.

Not for safe and out, not for catches, and not for anything else people who don't understand the game can think of. IMO major league umpires do by far the best job of all the officiating apparatus' in the major sports. It's amazing how many close calls they get right and as long as the home plate ump is consistent, I have no issue with umps there either.

But a fair/foul ball is a very, very, very difficult call even if you have a great angle. A-Rod's HR last night was just one of those things that sometimes happens but again, that is a very tough call for a second base umpire to make. I think in the regular season it would fall under the "that's baseball" argument but I can see them using it in the playoffs to avoid controversy. But I have no strong feelings about it either way.

 

[DreadedParms]

Voted yes. With everybody (fans, players, owners, etc.) having so much at stake, why wouldn't you implement something to get it right? Bare minimum, HR calls & fair or foul calls. It would be hard to overturn a foul call when it should be fair for anything less than a homer or ground rule double. I wouldn't be against plays on the bases either, although it may screw up the phantom tag of second that's popular with turning two (mainly for safety's sake).

Balls and strikes are judgment calls. I don't see as big a need there.

The human element should be reduced as much as possible in the name of getting the call right. Same thing for football. Baseball has a ton of stops already, you won't notice a thing.

 

[Liquid Tension]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

make a poll about the DH. its so stupid. im pretty sure i could manage in the AL. how hard could it be?

I always laugh when I read this about the DH, like the double switch is such rocket science Baseball is almost entirely about the batter/pitcher matchup and having a DH makes that a lot more interesting to me. Seeing a weak hitting 8th place hitter followed by a pitcher is not as exciting to me. This coming from someone who loves a low scoring game that is pitched well.

 

[Liquid Tension]

What is odd to me is that managers are allowed to go out and argue calls. Why allow that?

The guys on the bases do a surprisingly great job. I would be OK with the electronic strike zone so having an IR of HR's is OK as well. I think a wrong called pitch can ruin an AB

 

[pollardsvision]

baseball's biggest problem is it's refusal to change, and the hestitancy over instant replay is just another symptom. part of the reason football is so popular is b/c they'll do anything that might make the game better for fans. football is interested in fans. baseball is interested in preserving it's own history. instant replay isn't exactly something that would make the game more enjoyable for fans, but it's something most fans would like to see and that doesn't seem to interest mlb in the least.

if the mlb decision makers can't figure out a way to add instant replay without slowing the game down, then they simply don't deserve their jobs. it can certainly be just as quick as an umpire huddle. and it would certainly take less time than the ump and a pissed off manager arguing over a call that can't be changed anyway. anybody that thinks IR would slow the game down just isn't thinking. the game would probably speed up b/c there'd be no need for the 10 min. arguments when there's video evidence. (then again, the baseball purists would freak out if we didn't have as many manager outbursts with dirt kicking).

 

[pollardsvision]

The thought of instant replay in baseball makes me sick. It would be like putting a jumbotron up at Wrigley.MLB must preserve the purity of the game, just as Wrigley has. The DH is as close as MLB better ever come to ruining the game. Instant replay would be crossing the line.

make a poll about the DH. its so stupid. im pretty sure i could manage in the AL. how hard could it be?

I always laugh when I read this about the DH, like the double switch is such rocket science Baseball is almost entirely about the batter/pitcher matchup and having a DH makes that a lot more interesting to me. Seeing a weak hitting 8th place hitter followed by a pitcher is not as exciting to me. This coming from someone who loves a low scoring game that is pitched well.

it baffles me that people claim that they enjoy watching a pitcher stand in the batter's box. i'm not sure why someone would rather see that than a .285 hitter with 30 HR power. it would be ridiculous if people claimed that the forward pass ruined football. the NFL is great at attracting fans. MLB is great at preserving. they are afraid to upset 26 purists out there in an attempt to actually draw in a few million fans under the age of 50.

 

[shadyridr]

baseball's biggest problem is it's refusal to change,

Yeah baseball should add some kind of wild card or interleague play or making the all-star game count.

 

[pollardsvision]

baseball's biggest problem is it's refusal to change,

Yeah baseball should add some kind of wild card or interleague play or making the all-star game count.

i get your point, but your response fits with what i'm saying. for baseball, adding a wildcard or having teams from other leagues play each other are considered major changes. by all accounts, these are things that fans want to see and things that the NFL and the NBA embraced with ease. for baseball, it was like pulling teeth and you still have those that are just disgusted by it. i should've substituted the word "refusal" with "resistance".

 

[pollardsvision]

What is odd to me is that managers are allowed to go out and argue calls. Why allow that?

The guys on the bases do a surprisingly great job. I would be OK with the electronic strike zone so having an IR of HR's is OK as well. I think a wrong called pitch can ruin an AB

b/c arguing to fire the team up constitutes about 35% of a manager's responsibilities. without it, they'd be in trouble with the "office space bob's".(before anyone takes offense, i know no one around here agrees with my stance that, compared with NFL and NBA coaches, MLB managers don't do ####)

 

[MAC_32]

More fuel to the fire, Ben Francisco was robbed of a HR tonight. Ball hit off the railing in left, bounced back hit the yellow part of the wall, and carromed back into the park. No HR. That's four blown calls in one week.

 

[Knightro]

More fuel. O's had a man on 1st with one out. Huff hit a ball past the first base bag that looked fair - easily would have scored the tying run. Ump called it foul and on the next pitch, 4-6-3 double play.

 

[Bobcat10]

More fuel to the fire, Ben Francisco was robbed of a HR tonight. Ball hit off the railing in left, bounced back hit the yellow part of the wall, and carromed back into the park. No HR. That's four blown calls in one week.

Yep, it was obvious on the replay.I saw BB2N show some highlights not too long ago and one of them said it looked like it hit off the yellow line only. Clearly they didn't see, and definitely didn't show, the good replay view.Could cost them a win as it stranded himself and another runner on 3rd base, down three as I type.

 

[DoubleG]

Not for safe and out, not for catches, and not for anything else people who don't understand the game can think of. IMO major league umpires do by far the best job of all the officiating apparatus' in the major sports. It's amazing how many close calls they get right and as long as the home plate ump is consistent, I have no issue with umps there either.

Please note: no one arguing for instant replay is saying otherwise. Support for instant replay <> "umps stink". It simply means that umpires (like NFL refs) aren't perfect, and why let a game be decided by a mistake?One interesting point (for those who would suggest that IR would lengthen games) is that if you do have IR in certain situations, it may actually speed up the game as managers would either 1) have less to argue about 2) Have less of a basis for their arguments 3) Would be ejected more quickly or even instantly in cases where the play was reviewed. Depending on whether or not you had a "challenge" system in place, any or all of the above could be the case. This can't be compared to football in this regard, as play doesn't stop in the NFL coach disagrees with a call (well, it could but a flag would be thrown instantly).

 

[pollardsvision]

another blown HR call in the cubs-pirates game.

(we saw at least 5 replays while lou had a pointless discussion with the ump)

 

[proninja]

Spare me the "it would slow down the game" call. Teams have replays in the dugout well before the next pitch is thrown, and if it's wrong, the manager/player is going to spend 3-4 minutes making a scene anyway, taking a LOT more time than having some dude in a skybox with a few monitors radioing down to the field and saying "It was fair."

 

[proninja]

Also, spare me the "purity" of the game argument. Terrible calls do not make the game more "pure." They make it less honest. Don't give me the robotic strike zone crap, we're not talking about that, we're simply talking about making sure the game is played by the rules and enforced fairly.

 

[crewmember]

Phils caught a break today, houston hit a fair ball down 3rd base line, but was called foul. The human error here was by the home plate umpire since he came into fill in for an injury, so there was no 3rd base umpire.

 

[Greco]

I am not in favor of instant replay. I am in favor of a rule that makes the batter stay in the batter's box after every pitch that is a called ball or strike.unless it results in a WP/PB. Obviously, if the batter has to get out of the way of a pitch to save his ###, then leaving the batter's box would be allowed. I'd call this the Sean Casey/David Ortiz rule.

 

[wilked]

HR only

 

[TheWalkmen]

Spare me the "it would slow down the game" call. Teams have replays in the dugout well before the next pitch is thrown, and if it's wrong, the manager/player is going to spend 3-4 minutes making a scene anyway, taking a LOT more time than having some dude in a skybox with a few monitors radioing down to the field and saying "It was fair."

I can't imagine watching a baseball game and not having a manager run out of the dugout after a close play he thought they were robbed on, and instead throwing a red flag out of the dugout.How lame would that be.Please don't ruin the game MLB.

 

[DCThunder]

Yes, for "boundry calls" ONLY. Fair or Foul? HR or in play? Those sorts of thing. But NOT for safe or out calls or balls & strikes.

 

[pollardsvision]

Spare me the "it would slow down the game" call. Teams have replays in the dugout well before the next pitch is thrown, and if it's wrong, the manager/player is going to spend 3-4 minutes making a scene anyway, taking a LOT more time than having some dude in a skybox with a few monitors radioing down to the field and saying "It was fair."

I can't imagine watching a baseball game and not having a manager run out of the dugout after a close play he thought they were robbed on, and instead throwing a red flag out of the dugout.How lame would that be.Please don't ruin the game MLB.

this adds to my suspicion that most people really aren't worried about the game slowing down and really just don't want the game to change. manager/ump arguments slow the game down as much as anything, but i'm guessing the are a ton of people that feel like you and would hate to see the useless/pointless argument aspect of the game taken away. i seriously doubt that anyone would propose the red flag like football. it would just be a dude in the box calling down if it's wrong.btw, for those saying IR (or any other use of technological progress) would ruin the game, if IR would ruin the game, then baseball just isn't a very good game. i love baseball and think it can stand on it's own just fine, without hanging on to ever tradition. amazingly, i would even enjoy baseball if the managers didn't come out and have rampages over calls that can't be changed anyway.

 

[Liquid Tension]

What is odd to me is that managers are allowed to go out and argue calls. Why allow that?

The guys on the bases do a surprisingly great job. I would be OK with the electronic strike zone so having an IR of HR's is OK as well. I think a wrong called pitch can ruin an AB

b/c arguing to fire the team up constitutes about 35% of a manager's responsibilities. without it, they'd be in trouble with the "office space bob's".(before anyone takes offense, i know no one around here agrees with my stance that, compared with NFL and NBA coaches, MLB managers don't do ####)

While I don't disagree that the managers job in baseball is not even close to the X and O management of NFL or NBA or even NHL managers, the idea that it fires up a team is kind of silly. Just as the managers job is not as big, baseball is much less impacted by emotion as the other sports. The "fiery" manager doesn't really help you too much when you are up at the plate or trying to make a play.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Spare me the "it would slow down the game" call. Teams have replays in the dugout well before the next pitch is thrown, and if it's wrong, the manager/player is going to spend 3-4 minutes making a scene anyway, taking a LOT more time than having some dude in a skybox with a few monitors radioing down to the field and saying "It was fair."

I can't imagine watching a baseball game and not having a manager run out of the dugout after a close play he thought they were robbed on, and instead throwing a red flag out of the dugout.How lame would that be.Please don't ruin the game MLB.

this adds to my suspicion that most people really aren't worried about the game slowing down and really just don't want the game to change. manager/ump arguments slow the game down as much as anything, but i'm guessing the are a ton of people that feel like you and would hate to see the useless/pointless argument aspect of the game taken away. i seriously doubt that anyone would propose the red flag like football. it would just be a dude in the box calling down if it's wrong.btw, for those saying IR (or any other use of technological progress) would ruin the game, if IR would ruin the game, then baseball just isn't a very good game. i love baseball and think it can stand on it's own just fine, without hanging on to ever tradition. amazingly, i would even enjoy baseball if the managers didn't come out and have rampages over calls that can't be changed anyway.

As a reference, people said the same thing about technology and ruining tennis...the IR in tennis is done great. the truth is that the strike zone impacts the game GREATLY and I would not have an issue with a strike zone setup like tennis. You could see it immediately and the call is made. I would leave the base umps as the bang bang plays are looking at different items, but use IR for fair foul HR calls.I know the home plate strike zone is one that people don;t like, but it can be done and if you want the right call, anyone who has played the game knows that the strike zone is a HUGE part of the game; the difference between 2-0 and 1-1 is huge.

 

[pollardsvision]

Spare me the "it would slow down the game" call. Teams have replays in the dugout well before the next pitch is thrown, and if it's wrong, the manager/player is going to spend 3-4 minutes making a scene anyway, taking a LOT more time than having some dude in a skybox with a few monitors radioing down to the field and saying "It was fair."

I can't imagine watching a baseball game and not having a manager run out of the dugout after a close play he thought they were robbed on, and instead throwing a red flag out of the dugout.How lame would that be.Please don't ruin the game MLB.

this adds to my suspicion that most people really aren't worried about the game slowing down and really just don't want the game to change. manager/ump arguments slow the game down as much as anything, but i'm guessing the are a ton of people that feel like you and would hate to see the useless/pointless argument aspect of the game taken away. i seriously doubt that anyone would propose the red flag like football. it would just be a dude in the box calling down if it's wrong.btw, for those saying IR (or any other use of technological progress) would ruin the game, if IR would ruin the game, then baseball just isn't a very good game. i love baseball and think it can stand on it's own just fine, without hanging on to ever tradition. amazingly, i would even enjoy baseball if the managers didn't come out and have rampages over calls that can't be changed anyway.

As a reference, people said the same thing about technology and ruining tennis...the IR in tennis is done great. the truth is that the strike zone impacts the game GREATLY and I would not have an issue with a strike zone setup like tennis. You could see it immediately and the call is made. I would leave the base umps as the bang bang plays are looking at different items, but use IR for fair foul HR calls.I know the home plate strike zone is one that people don;t like, but it can be done and if you want the right call, anyone who has played the game knows that the strike zone is a HUGE part of the game; the difference between 2-0 and 1-1 is huge.

i'd be open to an electronic strike zone. i like pretty much anything that makes the results of the game more of a function of the players' abilities and less about a human's subjective jugdgement. of course, i can't possibly imagine it would ever happen. IR is meeting strong resistance during a week of daily blown HR calls. the purists would go nuts over an electronic strike zone. apparently, the game of baseball could not survive without the daily ritual of trying to figure out what kind of mood the ump's in. hell, if all of the calls were right, what would fans do? they wouldn't be able to #####, they'd just have to settle for drinking a few beers and watching some baseball.

 

[Power Monster]

No- you will all but give up the tradition of the game to the whims of the media. Joe Buck will be influencing the WS? No thanks!