INSTANT REPLAY

Jonathan Rossini

         

“After further review, the ruling on the field stands.  The ball will be placed on the one and a half yard line and no touchdown.”  This statement is common for a Sunday morning in the fall and into the winter, but is never heard from Spring Training until Game Seven of the World Series.  Some people are tired of hearing statements by umpires, but I think they are needed in every single sport, especially baseball.  Instant replay is necessary in Major League Baseball.

          Through over one-hundred seasons of Major League Baseball, replay has not been used and 2008 is the year to start.  There have been far too many blown calls by umpires this season.  The fact that only each umpires perspective is what matters is completely absurd.  What happens if one umpire makes the correct call, another makes the wrong call, and the other two were skipping in La-La Land?  Odds are, the umpire who made the incorrect call will have the final decision because he has the best view of the play.  If instant replay had been applied to make the correct outcome, the umpires could see the play from multiple angles again and again, and save their time of complaining, “I got it right!  No I got it right!”

          Within the past month, I have seen five homeruns that have been called incorrectly.  This statistic is hard to believe.  I thought Major League umpires have been training for years to make a game perfect.  I know that there is human error involved, but when a ball visibly bounces off of a pole, isn’t it a homerun.  This Wednesday, recently struggling Dustin Pedroia hit a screamer down the right field line that began to tail.  It obviously hit the Pesky Pole but instead was ruled a foul ball.  Would this have ended his slump?  Umpires botched another home run call when Cleveland’s Ben Francisco hit a shot that cleared the fence in the sixth inning. Television replays showed that Francisco’s ball was clearly a home run. Instead of being a three-run shot that got the Indians within 12-9 to the Texas Rangers, it was ruled an RBI double.  These are just two examples of umpire’s stupidity and lack of discipline this season.  The New York Yankees might not have won the 2000 World Series if it weren’t for that stupid kid reaching out over the fence.

          When is it alright for the umpires to use replay?  This is going to be a major question if it begins to be used in the majors.  I know coaches are going to come out arguing balls and strikes, the always do.  The old phrase should be used for these situations, “Don’t argue balls and strikes.”  If there is a questionable catch, use it.  If there is a disputed homerun call, use replay.  All possible human error can be eliminated if just a small amount of MLB’s income is set aside for replay booths.  Major League Baseball should start to exercise instant replay at the beginning of the 2009 season.