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Baseball's Half-Hearted Replay Call

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

Major League Baseball, the fiercest protector of tradition in American sport, is finally, thankfully, embracing instant replay for controversial home-run calls.

Starting this week, umpiring-crew chiefs can use video replay to determine whether home-run balls were fair or foul, interfered with by fans or outside the field of play.

A review of the long ball is long overdue. Umpires have blown several such calls over the last few years and fan interference - especially at newer parks that bring people closer to the field - is an issue, too.

But in changing tradition, Commissioner Bud Selig is too narrowly limiting the use of instant replays. A better policy would be to allow umpires to review the video anytime a call is challenged, except balls and strikes.

A game's outcome should not be decided by a blown call.

In the last couple of weeks, the Tampa Bay Rays, who are in the middle of a pennant race, have been hurt by blown calls, including one that cost a game against the Chicago White Sox. An umpire ruled that Willy Aybar interfered with a Chicago player during a 10th-inning rundown between second and third bases. The televised replay, however, showed the White Sox player deliberately threw his elbow into Aybar during the chase. Lacking the benefit of instant replay, the umpire ruled against the Rays and the game was lost.

Selig should prevent such wrongs, especially in a pennant race.

But the commissioner says he's not interested in any expansion. "There's been some concern that, well, if you start here, look what it's going to lead to. Not as long as I'm the commissioner."

Come on, Bud. The use of instant replay in other sports hasn't been abused.

Limiting replays to home runs, while a good start, is a half-hearted solution.

Baseball would be better served by helping umpires get the calls right.

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