Braves Report

With the announcement last week that Major League Baseball and the umpires agreed on implementing an ‘Instant Replay’ system for questionable home run calls in every ballpark, more information has surfaced about when this system will start being used. Today is that day, according to ESPN, and it is generating mixed feelings. The reason for choosing this particular Thursday is so that it will not disrupt any series currently being played. Why they’re starting it at the end of the season, however, is a bit more confusing, and adds to the somewhat amount of controversy about it.

Baseball purists believe that this decision will open the floodgates to all future actions and change the game as we know it by eliminating the human error factor. As for me, I’m not so sure. For one, that seems like the ’slippery slope’ argument, and that just isn’t the case. The umpires’ union is too strong to let its workers be replaced by a QuesTec-type system, and I expect Hell to freeze over before a machine is calling balls and strikes instead of a human being. Rather, I think people need to realize that this will be an aid for the umpires.

As pointed out on this week’s House of Braves Talk podcast, they’re implementing this change to get calls right. Specifically, the ones that really alter a game. Immediately as a Braves fan, one relevant situation that comes to mind is a game a few years ago against the Nationals, where Henry Blanco hit a home run just over the base of the left field wall against the Nationals. Frank Robinson came out to argue that the ball was foul, the call was overturned, Bobby came out and argued some more, was probably ejected, and the incorrect call ended up being the difference maker in the game. Had this system been around those years ago, they wouldn’t have botched the call and cost the Braves the game. The point being, umpires shouldn’t cause a team to lose, especially when the call isn’t subjective, like on a home run.

That said, critics have pointed out that this might extend the length of already long ballgames. While this is probably true, what is another 4 minutes added to one in every 300 games? Honestly, I can’t even really see this system being used much. Apart from maybe 3 or 4 times a year, how often are home runs really called into question? As long as MLB doesn’t go overboard with this, which I don’t think it will, hardly anybody will notice it. Proof of this is that they are starting to use the system on an arbitrary Thursday at the end of August. Personally, I believe they should have waited until the start of the new season, but I doubt that the system will cause a noticeable difference in the way the game is played. Other sports, particularly football, which has a much more extensive replay system, have been using this technology for years without changing the face of those games. Frankly, if this Instant Replay can make the game more fair, I don’t see any reason why MLB shouldn’t go ahead with it.