We Want Instant Replay! (Or Do We?)

Throughout these MLB playoffs, there have been a high number of bad calls. Joe Mauer's fly ball down the left field line in New Yankee Stadium, Johnny Damon's sinking line drive yesterday that was "caught" and turned into a double play, etc. The question in everyone's head right now is if the MLB should institute a replay system beyond homerun calls. As much as everybody would like to think otherwise, the answer here is a simple "No, thank you".

A widespread replay review system in baseball would be a bad idea. I agree with homerun replays because of all the weird setups of the ballpark fences, but a replay system within the first 300 feet of home plate is unnecessary. How often do bad calls happen every game, on average? Maybe two? Of course in the playoffs these mistakes are blown up and put under a microscope, but baseball has been around for nearly 150 years with no replay and I think it is operating pretty well. Bringing a machine in to do a human's job in baseball would not work.

If there were a replay system in the MLB, how would it work? Would it be like the NFL where each manager could choose only two plays per game to "challenge"? Baseball is so rich in history, it would be almost a disgrace for little red flags to start flying out of the dugout during the game. Could you imagine Lou Piniella stepping one foot out of the dugout to throw a dinky red flag onto the field of play instead of going up to a base umpire to kick dirt on his shoes? Ridiculous.

How would the fans be notified of each challenge? Would the umpires start wearing microphones so they can talk over the loudspeaker? No one wants to hear C.B. Bucknor yelling in their ears. Anyways, baseball games are too long and slow paced as it is to just stop play for a decently close call. I am not even going to get into instant replay or machines making ball and strike calls.

In football, the play is going on so fast and there are so many different actions that occur within each game, let alone every drive down the field, that referees make mistakes all the time. Not because they are poor officials, just because missed calls happen all the time because of the nature of the game. In football, every play is dynamic. In baseball, there are only a few close calls per game. There are routine fly balls and routine ground balls that beat out runners by ten feet.

Every running play in the NFL could be a fumble, every thrown ball could be caught close to the out of bounds markers, and that is why they had to institute a replay system in football. I completely disagree with the NCAA's version of challenging anything and everything, as opposed to the NFL's red flag system, but that is another argument.

Back to Philly for games 3-5, should be some good baseball.