Blown Calls by Umps Raise Replay Question

Unfortunately for Major League Baseball, this postseason has become the year of the umpire.
Instead of being able to focus our attention on the stellar pitching performances of A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee or debating the managerial decisions of Joe Girardi and Charlie Manuel, bad umpiring and the renewed call for instant replay have become the dominant themes of these playoffs.

MLB’s umpires have been exposed on a number of poor judgment calls this postseason. In the 10th inning of game two of the Division Series between the Yankees and Twins, left field umpire Phil Cuzzi incorrectly ruled that Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer’s double was a foul ball, even though it clearly hit Melky Cabrera’s glove in fair territory. Although Mauer eventually singled in the at-bat, the correct call could have changed the dynamic of that inning and potentially the rest of the series in which the Twins were swept.

In game four of the Championship Series, third base umpire Tim McClelland — considered the best umpire in the sport according to a 2006 Sports Illustrated players’ poll — was also guilty of making an egregious call. With one out in the fifth with Jorge Posada on third and Robinson Cano on second, Angels’ catcher Mike Napoli was able to tag both runners out in a rundown near third base. But despite being tagged two steps from the base, Cano was ruled safe because McClelland believed his foot was on the base.

In the seventh inning of game two of the World Series, first base umpire Brian Gorman ruled that Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard caught a liner off the bat of Johnny Damon that led to a double play, when replay showed the ball hit the ground before entering his mitt. In the eighth inning, with the Phillies down two runs and threatening, Gorman called second baseman Chase Utley out at first to complete an inning-ending double play, even though he appeared safe on replay.

After seeing these horrendous calls in decisive postseason games, many fans and pundits have called for MLB to expand its video replay system so judgment calls such as these could be corrected.
Currently, MLB uses video replay only to assist umpires in making boundary calls. Implemented in August 2008 to combat the quirks of modern stadium dimensions, umpires may use replay to determine if potential home runs left the park, were fair and not interfered with by fans in play. No other calls may be reviewed.

The time has probably come for MLB to pursue a more comprehensive video replay system to allow for the review of other questionable calls. With the clarity of high-definition technology available to most regular season and all postseason games, there is no reason why MLB cannot institute a video review mechanism to get the calls right. The real question facing baseball is how to implement it.

Even after this postseason’s blunders, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig remains a fierce critic of expanding replay, rightly concerned that stoppages for video reviews could disrupt the pace of the sport.

“When you start to think you’re going to have more intrusions — and even if they’re good intrusions — it’s something that you have to be very careful about,” Selig said in a press conference before game two of the World Series. “Affecting the game on the field is not something I really want to do.”

Despite his opposition, Selig has promised to continue to review the possibility of expanding replay. Ironically, Selig’s skepticism toward instant replay might make him the perfect person to usher in a system that allows bad calls to be overturned without damaging the integrity of the game.

As Selig and other MLB executives understand, instituting instant replay would be a revolutionary change to the game — one that should only be considered after a thorough analysis of how the system would work.

The first question MLB would have to answer is which calls would be reviewable. Besides fair-foul, safe-out and catch-trap calls, would they allow for the review of hit batters and questionable obstruction and interference calls? Also, if runners were on base during a disputed call, how would the umpires determine where the runners should be placed following an overturned call?

Second, MLB would have to determine the procedure to initiate the review process. Would the umpires decide on their own to use replay? Would a MLB official in New York or another official at the ballpark notify the umpires that they should review a call? Or would a disputed call have to be challenged by a manager as is the procedure in the NFL?

Finally and most importantly, MLB would have to decide how umpires would review the replays in a timely manner without disrupting the flow of the game. Would there be a time limit in which calls could be reviewed, and would the umpires continue to go into a tunnel to view the replays or would they remain on the field?

While there are demands for replay now, MLB is right to take a very deliberative stance to see if video review can be properly implemented without disturbing the rhythm of the sport.

Only then will we have a system that no one says needs to be reviewed.

Nick Macri is a junior in the College. The Big Picture appears in every other Tuesday issue of Hoya Sports.