ANOTHER LOOK AT IT

What is going on around here? Last night the Minnesota Twins blew a huge lead against the struggling Athletics at home. After an impressive start they let the A’s off the ropes and the green and gold made them pay. They erased the deficit in a 7 run 7th which was sparked by Matt Holliday’s grand slam. Unfortunately for Oakland the headline of the night wasn’t the epic comeback it was the controversy that the final out caused.

Let me start by stating that Michael’s A’s deserved to win that game and the Twins deserved what they got. But it does raise the debate for instant replay, should it be expanded or does it not belong in baseball?

I think that what happened last night is an example that screams for the need to further introduce instant replay. The game ended when Michael Cuddyer was called out trying to score from second on Wuertz’s wild pitch. The original call was proven wrong when a second look at it clearly showed Cuddyer getting the plate before the tag.

It is hard for the ump’s to make the call in a fraction of a second from a potentially blocked view. But just because it is tough does that mean that we shouldn’t get the call correct? The Twins would have tied the game and forced extra innings or won the game. The season is a long 162 trek through the summer and it will give MLB a kick in the pants if the Twins miss the playoffs by one game.

Baseball is the last major sport to introduce instant replay. Even when they did it was merely a baby step in the right direction. They decided to limit the replay to only homeruns. It is a step that has worked but since then there have been instances in which we wish that baseball would take another step. There are many reasons that baseball fans are hesitant to further involve replay. So let’s talk about them, shall we?

1.) “The current system is taking too long. Just last night in Houston a review of a potential home run left fans and players waiting for about seven minutes. That is a long break for an already long game.”

Okay, let’s get real. If you are a baseball fan and it is your game then you stopped worrying about a long game a long time ago. If you go to a baseball game and endure the heat and humidity and then your team gets robbed of a win or a pivotal moment because of human error you are going to be ticked off. It is not as if every single out is going to be contested. Probably the only calls that will be contested will be the ones that the managers come out of the dugouts. Everyone doesn’t mind when a manager comes out of the dugout to throw a hissy fit for five minutes over a blown call, and the end of their tirade what happens? Nothing. We might as well get the call right if we are going to spend the time.

2.) “If the scope of instant replay in baseball gets too big it could really hurt the game. A replay of every close play at first base or called strike three would be horrible for the typical fan.”

It is a slippery slope that baseball intends to avoid. I do understand their concern if all of a sudden we challenge every single call. These are the same concerns that football, tennis and hockey have had to deal with. Football and tennis have systems in which the teams get a certain number of challenges and are awarded if they get the challenge right. For hockey the reviews are decided on by the officials. If the officials think that there is a possibility of their call being wrong then they check it out. For baseball we are simply looking at the hot zones for replay. The replay would be best at the foul poles, homerun calls and close plays at each base. It would never come to a point when we challenge balls and strikes.

3.) “Though accountability is good, we can't question everything an umpire says. Umpires are human and make mistakes and those mistakes will always be part of the game and there is simply no way around that.”

This quote bothers me. “those mistakes will always be part of the game and there is simply no way around that.” So we would rather accept that we are going to get things wrongs just to avoid using the technology? I am not the most technologically savvy guy and would admit that if we didn’t have technology than a lot of our lives wouldn’t be so hectic BUT if I don’t just accept that I will get to work late just because I wanted to avoid upgrading from a bike to a car.

The bottom line of the argument is that we should try to get the call right. Who wants to win or lose on a bad call. Why should we live with that when we have the possibility of getting it right. I know the baseball purists may disagree and I welcome the debate, but honestly it’s time to get it right.