Instant Replay for baseball?

NO!

Instant replay would destroy baseball.

People complain the games are too lengthy now- just imagine if we go to instant replay

NO! It would ruin the game. There is absolutely no merit. What would we talk about?????

It's long over due.

Smokey:

I agree. With instant replay the outcome of particular games may be changed...this is true.

What else is true is that the essence of the game would change...umpire decisions,right or wrong, are part of the game...it would not be the same game if the controversy was edited out.


Linear:

I respectfully disagree.

Never...........But if you feel tradition has no place in baseball then you might as well let questec call the game.......while they are at it.....let them use aluminum bats too...

NO WAY! Instant replay would take the traditionalness (if thats a word) out of the game.

Are you serious, instant replay. I sure hope not. The umpire is part of what makes baseball a great game. Who would Pinella argue with?

Come on! We have big brother trying to put his nose in everything we do. We have "file" created everyday on our lives. We, as a society, are trying to legislate common sense. WE DON'T WANT TO ADD REPLAY TO BASEBALL. I want to believe in the integrity of the ump right or wrong. I want to know that there are quirks to each game be it a different strike zone etc. If we go this far, why not do away with umps all together and use that darn imaging tool they use for pitch location. THEN WE WILL TOTALLY TAKE OUT THE HUMAN ELEMENT WITH REGARDS TO OFFICIATING AND THE GAME WILL BE COME STERILE. JMHO!

Never.
It's a human game.

As frustrating as it is when experiencing the badly blown call... No. It's part of the game.

JMHO

I argee no instant replay.
The umpire blew the call last night but it is amazing on how good the pro umpires are. Most of the time they get it right the first time.

Don't even THINK about it!! NO!

If we go to instant replay what do we have to discuss in terms of the calls

As noted above good and bad calls are part of the game--I would never get tossed again

The only reason I can see replay comming into play is on a home run (foul pole, yellow line/railing) or a fan interference call. At that point the umpire may be to far away and/or does not have the support of another ump with a "better" view. The physical dimensions of the playing field, fair & foul ground, is clearly defined. If the question is whether or not the ball is in or out of that dimension, or was obstructed by an outside force I could see where replay may be a benifet.

NEVER!, No Way, Absolutely NOT!

O42

Rz1- you cant have it both ways! you cant have that an ump was to far away to make the call but not that he was out of position and he has to make a call! where do you draw the line? maybe we should have a laser heads up display for a strike zone & we can put a chip in the ball and it will just register on the scoreboard. then strikes will never be disputed either! its only because we have replay in the booth and at home that we can question the umpires integrity anyways. why should the umpires not be graded by thier peers and given the post season and its perks for being the best in thier bussines for the year!

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=2005...ps2005news&fext=.jsp

Yeah, but he's still a WEENIE on drugs and steroids....

NO NO NO. NO Instant Replay.

LONG OVER DO..........

Without calling it correctly the game is a joke of the umpires.

We have the technology.

USE IT!

Technology

LONG OVER DO..........

Without calling it correctly the game is a joke of the umpires.

We have the technology.

USE IT!

NO

Add another "no" to the vote.

NO!

YES YES YES and YES

so rufus.......if technology is important to use........should they also be allowed to use aluminum bats?......they are technologically superior to wooden ones.......

But traditionally we use wooden bats in MLB...why would we use instant replay??......and let me assure you........no MLB (or HS) umpire considers the game a joke......

piaa_ump:

Solid argument!

The problem with putting technology into the game is where do you stop? We have the technology to electronically call balls/strikes without a homeplate ump. You could put a camera at every base and on every defensive player and have one ump up in a booth calling the plays over the PA system.

It would be accurate, but would it still be baseball? No, it would destroy the character of the game. It would turn the game into a cold ghost of itself.

I general, I think the umps do a great job. In 99% of the cases, one blown call is not going to determine the outcome of the game when you add up all the little things ... hits, errors, great defensive plays, a pitcher missing his spot, pass ball, etc., that all together incrementally add up to the end result. That's one of the beautiful things about baseball ... it's the aggregate of many small things done very well that add up to victory. It's long stretches of boredom punctuated by instants of brilliant feats and human failures that bring life to this game. The umps are part of this human element.

Baseball players have a tradition of believing in luck ... thus the lucky socks, pants, shoelaces, etc. ... it's part of the mystique of the game. It also means that sometimes you're unlucky.

I think the only place for using video technology is for reviewing things like fair/foul and fan interference where it is simply hard to see what exactly happened to the ball because of distance.

pbonesteele:

Couldn't agree with you more...especially about drawing the line. If we were to allow this at the highest level where do you draw the line as to not using it? Minors? D1 college? D2? D3? NAIA? JUCO? HS? Travel ball? LL? It all comes with a cost also. I'm not for it's use even on fan interference or fair/foul either...slippery slope!

No, no, no.
The 4 hour game would now be 6 hours long and there goes your interest.

However, I think that in post season play, when championships and big money is at stake, maybe? Under certain circumstances? Instant replay is not used in college football for every instance.

Or just make sure the umpires are not full of themselves. JMO.

Tiger Paw Mom:

The umps are part of the game and at times a very entertaining part of the game. I wouldn't want to lose that...they can have a big ego or a flair for the dramatic so long as they are FAIR and CONSISTENT.

As far as the use of instant replay or other technology I'm against it. We should all expect the very best from the umps. And we should not dream of all of the problems that MAY be corrected by eliminating the umps.

That dream could turn into a nightmare...and a boring one at that!

The notion of umpire mistakes as "rare" is and has always been a myth. This past week was not unusual. The game is just too fast.

But MLB could make significant improvements, especially when these calls matters most.

Here's how you appropriately use instant replay:
1.) Never use replay for balls and strikes.
2.) Limit replays to MLB post season, including any one game tie-breakers. (This is naturally technically limiting because few regular season broadcasts use enough cameras to cover every angle.)
3.) Allow managers 2x challenges per game.
(Think about it: It IS very rare to see more than 4x total challengable plays in a game!)
3.) Play tv commercials while challenged plays are reviewed........ so in later innings some of those extra (between inning) commercials---that lengthen post season games---can be eliminated.
5.) Assign a premium ump, possibly someone who isn't especially mobile, to the replay box to quickly identify any wrong wrong fair-foul/fan interference (etc) calls (as neccessary).

Re: "Tradition" and the "integrity" of the game.... Not long ago hard care purists (think: Bob Costas) agressively campaigned against the wild card. Today the wild card chase is the most dynamic part of season.

Finally: If no labor (umpire union) issues were involved, MLB would have already resolved this issue.

HaverDad:

Let me state up front that I am not in favor of any instant replay.

I'm not sure that the 'wild card' change is the same as a change allowing 'instant replay'.

I accept your point that any change will impact the 'tradition' and 'integrity' of the game and as such these proposed changes should be weighed and considered very carefully.

Any movement towards 'instant replay',in my mind,is a move towards fundamentally changing the game. Umpire decisions are more difficult to accept than game decisions (W/L) especially if it is thought that the game decision was improperly influenced by the umpire. Perceived wrong decisions by an umpire are not popular and it seems an easy fix would be to scoot them increasingly out of the picture.

Its kind of like an environmental battle where you're asked to 'hug a tree' or 'cut a tree'. Without much thought people will almost always go for the hug thinking they have done something good without realizing the effect that decision has on a far wider scope. Imagine a world where no tree was ever cut...aluminum bat anyone?

Those of us 'inside baseball' can reasonably argue for or against 'instant replay' from an informed perspective but if you were to put the question out at large to the general population they most likely would ask themselves 'what's the harm? Every other sport seems to have it'.

Because of this we, the baseball community, must be vigilant when it comes to changing baseball.

I'm digging in and saying no to any and all 'instant replay'.

And by the way ...hug a kid and not a tree!!! IMHO!

Regarding replays: I am reminded that Bill Bradley, US senator, Rhodes Scholar and exceptional human being, recalls standing at MSG center court with Frazier and Reed, as champions of the NBA, as the "most thrilling moment" of his most accomplished life.

My point is I am grieved whenever any umpire's bad call extends an inning or ends a rally and wrongly kills any players once-in-a-lifetime chance to know that feeling. We can/should do more to get it right at the most critical moments.
NOTE: Although a Royals fan, I regret Deckinger's mistake to this day.)

For me, umpires are functionaries. The players, and to a lesser degree, the managers are the game.

Baseball is a human game.

Like the game of life; it is often unfair, but you always have the opportunity to change, to make choices and to reverse bad decisions.

Players have nine innings, twenty seven outs, 81 strikes to change the outcome of each game. One bad call will never change the outcome of a game. As Yogi said, "It aint over till it's over" The Cards proved that last night.

HaverDad:

I agree about getting it right all the time ,especially at the critical time,but not with high technology.