How Baseball Can Solve the Replay Problem
Whenever I hear sports fans and analysts talk about the potential upcoming addition of instant replay to the MLB I get surprised by the hesitation, and sometimes direct rage, against the idea. The shortcomings of the NFL's replay system is consistently cited as a reason for such negative attitudes, but I'm going to come out and say that anyone who doesn't see the potential benefits of replay in baseball is suffering from a lack of vision and imagination.
I do understand some of the concerns. To be sure, baseball is a traditionalist's game. As many people have noted, if instant replay or cameras are used to call balls and strikes, then the game as we know it is dead and it would then become a completely different game. I don't ever want to watch a baseball game without an ump hunkered down behind the catcher calling balls and strikes. It simply wouldn't be right, no matter how perfect a computerized system could be invented to do that.
Public sentiment is finally turning towards using replay towards other uses in baseball such as determining whether a ball that bounces off the top of the wall is a home run or whether a curling fly ball edges into the foul line or pole or not. From the reports regarding the winter baseball meetings, it sounds like the owners are starting to agree as well. Some radicals, like me, are advocating using replay in limited situations (especially postseason) to determine close plays at bases and at home. I don't need to remind any baseball fan of the questionable calls in this regard in the last two postseasons.
Still, the reticence around the topic comes down to the potential of accuracy and speed, and I'm here to tell you that both can be accomplished to perfection under the correct system. Forget the NFL system. It is a bloated system that is too much procedure and ceremony and not streamlined to efficiency. In fact, with the red flags, the hoods and the announcement of the call it really has more to do with drama than anything else.
Instead, the replay system in baseball could and should be streamlined to be completely invisible. This is an age of communication technology innovation that allows for such a lofty goal. All that would need to be done is add one certified umpire to every crew who would occupy a video booth with a headset linked to a headset of the umpires on the field. This umpire could watch the television feeds and could immediately signal to the field through the headset when a call had been blown. It doesn't need to be a long ordeal, normally the bad calls are immediately apparent from just a few seconds of watching the video... sports fans know this well, when they immediately see that a call on the field has been blown by one single replay.
In situations like that where a replay immediately and clearly shows that a call on the field has been blown, the information can be quickly relayed to the field umpires via a headset. If the call is too close to be overturned by a few seconds of video review, then the play stands and the game moves on. This solves the problem of the few egregiously bad calls that happen while preserving the speed, flow and traditional feel of the game. With the recent failures of postseason calls and he questionable championships they have left in their wake, action must be taken to preserve the integrity of the game itself. When crowning a champion in this day and age where people at home can see the calls better than the umpires, steps need to be taken to ensure that the decision made is the right one, every time.
There you have it MLB. I've given you the perfect answer to your dilemma, and for free no less. Of course, the cynical side of me worries that the system baseball installs will be far less efficient and far more intrusive than this one. Recent history of MLB management decisions doesn't leave me hopeful. With the rest of MLB fans everywhere I will be holding my breath hoping they get this right, but time will tell.
