Does Instant Replay Belong in MLB?

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Some will say, no way! Others will say it’s about time! And yet most people will not be able to make up their minds, yes, but only in certain circumstances after the 5^th inning but not during day games or in the first half of the year or on a clear day. OK, I got a little carried away there, but I hope you got the point. Even the people who are for it simply can’t agree to what those situations are that would be most beneficial to be reviewed with Instant Replay.

Some of the ideas I have heard for a pro Instant Replay stance are as follows. Calling Home Runs down the lines fair or foul. Close plays at the plate. Close plays at the other three bases. Help in deciding fan interference. Assisting in seeing if a better went around on a check swing or not. How runners should advance on either a ground rule double or fan interference. A home run call that is questionable for either where it hit on top of or over a wall or for fan interference (reaching over the wall in either LF,, CF or RF). Some have even asked for it to be used to call balls and strikes in key parts of the game. Some also want it to determine whether a batsman has been hit by a pitch or not. While others want it to assist in determining a close foul ball that lands close to the chalk line in crucial situations. As you can see there are many reasons that people have come up with to use Instant Replay in Baseball.

Maybe they should try it in the minors as a test. Nah, that’s too expensive for use in the minors. How about during the 2008 Playoffs? Nah, you don’t want to test something when so much is on the line. How about during the All Star game? Now you might be onto something! Now if only I had some pull with the commissioner’s office, we might be getting somewhere. Earlier this winter, during the Winter Meetings, the MLB GMs and Owners agreed to seriously talk about the prospect of instituting Instant Replay into Major League Baseball in the near future, but I don’t think a timeframe was agreed upon. What am I not surprised?! But, at least they seemed more receptive to it that they have in years past.

At this point, if anyone has any further information that will fill in any gaps that I may have overlooked, feel free to send them my way via e-mail or commenting below!

Now for the moment you all have been waiting for…my opinion on the matter of Instant Replay in Baseball!

I think that for now, let’s leave plays at the plate and, for that matter, at any other base up to the umpires. If Instant Replay works in other areas, then we can always incorporate it into other necessary areas at a later date. Let QuesTec be the means that baseball goes to in the future to assist them will calling balls and strikes. Instant Replay would take far too long for this purpose and the game is long enough as it is. Neither do I think it is necessary for HBP calls or to determine whether a batter checks his swing or not.

Where I do think that Baseball could benefit most by using Instant Replay would be in calling Home Runs. Not just in regard to fan interference, but to help make the right call on balls hit down the line as well as determining where they hit in relation to the yellow line above the CF wall at Fenway or stadiums that have a shelf at the top of their OF walls like in LF in Cleveland, et al.

**Please leave a comment to share your views on Instant Replay or list other fields that have quirky areas that Instant Replay could be of assistance in making the right call!**