I was watching the Yanks game today (only because nothing else was on) and saw the bad call by the umpire at third base, calling a Yankee out when he was clearly safe. Toree came out to argue and got thrown out of the game, but he was right. Why isn't there any sort of replay allowed in baseball? The technology is obviously available and it's not like they're going to slow the game down if they allow some sort of challenge.
Because baseball is a game of more human error than most... *rolls eyes* I don't get it either. I understand not doing it for balls and strikes, there are too many questions with that. But to see if someone is safe or out, an umpire might not be able to see that clearly.
Honestly, I can't see baseball ever getting instant replay. Like mack said, it's a game of human error. More than that though, the umpires union would likely fight it tooth and nail. There's a punishment system in place already for plays like last night. That film will be reviewed, and a fine will be levied, and we will never hear a word about it. Just like baseball protects it's steroid abusing freaks, they protect everything about the sport from public scrutiny. For whatever reason, I guess to "preserve the integrity of the game," baseball never allows damning evidence to go unpunished. Baseball is one of the few professions in this country where whistleblowers are the enemy. MLB is like the single guy who picks up all of his dirty laundry off the floor and throws it in the closet when his mother comes for a visit. It's sad. It really is.
Well why would an umpire favor getting fined over using video evidence to correct there error? If you gave me those two options, I'd keep the money in my pocket every time.
The fine is not made public. AFAIK, the league doesn't even call the team to "apologize" the way that, say, the NFL does. The umps would be fined either way. Under the current system though, a team can't call out an ump who they think treats them unfairly. There's simply no "proof." Honestly, over the past dozen years, I've seen umps that were blatantly pro-Yankees, and more recently, umps that are blatantly anti-Yankees. Neither case is fair. I'm a different animal than most. Most people are fine with it if their team is the beneficiary of a bad call. I simply believe that umps should just do the best job, and call things as best they can, and leave the games in the hands of the players. Trust me, I agree that instant replay should be allowed with a challenge system like football. Balls and strikes in critical situations should be up for review (such as a called 3rd strike to end an inning,) as well as plays on the field. I just don't think there will ever be a chance of it happening.
I don't think I've ever seen umpires that were blatantly for or against a team, I think there are just some bad umps out there. As I said before, bad calls even out in the end, especially over a 162 game season. A bad call that costs you a game will more than likely be balanced later in the season by a call that gives you a win you shouldn't have had. The only time when this doesn't work is in the playoffs, and I think they should have replay there.
That's a very good point, but I sort of disagree right now. The Yankees have been involved with 5 terrible calls this year. The one in Seattle that lost a game they should have won. That hurt the team badly, since the slide was beginning, and they have had a tough time recovering. Then there were the two consecutive Red Sox games, where one went against, then the next day for, the Yankees. Those two sort of balanced out. Then there was the called third strike last week that ended a game when the Yankees had a shot at coming back to win. Then last night. Granted, the Abreu call didn't matter in terms of the win/loss, but it could have. (It may have even worked to the Yankees advantage if Torre's tirade sparks this team now.) I think you're right that calls eventually balance out over 162 games. You lose one today, but you get it back in August. However, the immediate effect can be detrimental to a team. That Seattle game hurt the Yankees over the course of a month of play. Even if it happened to the Sox, I would be against it. Like I said, I tend to feel that the players should determine the outcome of a game. The umps should just be there to make sure the rules are adherred to.
I think the real reason is that baseball games are just too long already. There's also the "exact same time" factor. A lot of times, for some reason, a guy will get to the bag and get tagged at the exact same time. So you have to make some call. This kind of thing doesn't really happen in other sports as often. You don't want to be scrutinizing calls in those situations.
Eh, I see your point, but there is already a "rule" in place for that. "The tie goes to the runner." And if it's a challenge system, like football, where you get 2 for the game, chances are, you're not going to waste it on that play unless a run would have scored, but instead the out ended the inning.
Right and 2 challenges would add maybe another 5 minutes to the game. That's relatively low and considering the "flow" of baseball you aren't really throwing anything off IMO.
