Instant Replay Could Change the Future of Major League Baseball

With all of the ongoing developments in technology these days, many of them find their way onto the fields and courts of professional athletics. 

The National Football League uses instant replay, arguably more than they should.  Collegiate football uses instant replay. 

Even the National Basketball Association utilizes this incredible tool of technology to ensure important calls are made correctly.

The National Hockey League has cameras all over the ice to make sure when a goal is truly a goal and when it missed by "that much." 

With all of these sports organizations employing the use of instant replay, why is Major League Baseball sitting on their hands and not taking advantage of a much needed tool? 

While watching the NY Yankees play the NY Mets in the Bronx tonight, a questionable call arose when Carlos Delgado slapped a slicing ball down the left field line and over the fence. 

At first, the ruling on the field was a homerun.  But after a cursory meeting of the umpires, the ruling was overturned and declared a foul ball, thus taking away three runs from the NY Mets. 

Admittedly, at first glance, the ball could have easily drifted just foul of the line.  But technology being what it is today in sports, there were many camera angles readily available to the public. 

One in particular showed the foul pole clearly two feet in fair territory. 

Closer inspection of the footage showed where the ball careened off the top of the wall in fair territory and then skidded off the foul pole and into a fans lap just inside ground. 

For those of you who aren't baseball aficionados, the foul pole is actually in play and if is struck by the ball it is in fact a homerun. 

This is just another perfect example of how a rudimentary instant replay system could be incredibly useful in making the right call on the field. 

Some might say it will end up being like football and have too many replays and it will just slow the game down.  Yea yea yea, I get it. 

All this would have to be is a truly "two-challenge" system where the only plays that are reviewed are what coaches challenge themselves.  Therefore, a game would have a maximum of four challenges per game. 

The play aforementioned would have been a perfect time for Willie Randolph and the Mets to throw the challenge flag and get the two runs more they deserved. 

As it is, I am writing this in the middle of the game and the costliness of this error by the umpires has yet to fully be determined. 

Hopefully, yet another team will not get robbed of a deserved win due to lack of technology and a lack of officiating.