Instant Replay Will Only Interfere with MLB: Leave the Game Alone!

When Abner Doubleday created the game of baseball, he certainly did not envision a game that would be tainted by performance enhancing drugs, corked bats, and betting scandals.

While Major League Baseball has done its best to clean up the game in all of the given scenarios, they are now faced with another issue that could have dramatic effects on the game itself—the issue of instant replay. 

Instant replay and baseball just do not belong together in the same sentence.

While it has been initiated into the other three major sports, and I'll admit has been quite effective, baseball simply has no need or place for it. Baseball is a game of tradition and a technological system that alters the judgment of an umpiring crew is terrible for the game.

Umpire crews normally consist of four men, except for postseason play when six men crews take the field to watch the foul lines in right and left field. These crews are among the top officiating crews in all of sports and I would say they are probably the strongest at their jobs when compared to referees in basketball, football, and hockey.

Not to mention they are paid much larger contracts than referees in any other sport, due to such a strong union protecting the umpires.

First of all, there is way too much controversy as to what should and shouldn't be allowed to be reviewed. Some people say that only fair/foul balls should be reviewed while others say that it should include home run calls, due to the A-Rod incident. Others believe that all calls should be reviewable.

The system is never going to be completely fair if some calls are reviewable while others are not, as we can see with the NFL instant replay rules.

One must either be in favor for all calls to be reviewable or none at all. The only way to keep it entirely fair would be to have no instant replay system.

Umpiring crews have a job to do—to make the calls that they see.

As a former umpire myself, I can tell you that we make mistakes and miss calls, as it is only human error. But, in all honesty, baseball is not a game of perfection, and there is human error within the game itself.

Umpires' judgment and authority are strong within Major League Baseball. Their calls are final and never subject to review, unless of course they collectively decide on a change in the call. Any type of replay system would do nothing but undermine their authority and take away their ability to make judgment calls. 

Plus, there is no question that a replay system would add unnecessary time to the game itself.

People have said that it would not take any longer than it does now for an umpiring crew to huddle up and make a decision, but that is not the case. If we look at the NFL, the replay system adds unnecessary minutes to the game, while the fans sit and wait and broadcasters ramble about the same thing over and over until a decision is finally made.

It would be the same thing in baseball.

A huddle of umpires making a decision is quick and effective, while a replay system would require the crew chief to examine the play and the call multiple times. Then he would huddle with the rest of the umpires to let them know what was going on.

For a game that takes way too long already, adding more time is the last thing MLB needs.

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