Baseball is the most traditional of all North American sports.
While referees in the NFL and NHL enjoy the benefit of "going upstairs" to review close calls, such a practice has no place in Major League Baseball.
During the 2007 postseason, Manny Ramirez hit what's been called the longest single in MLB history.
Fans of the Boston Red Sox claim Ramirez's drive against the Indians cleared the right field wall and should have been called a home run. The call on the field, however, was that the ball bounced off the fence.
We could study the replay for all eternity, but the fact of the matter is that the umpire ruled that the ball wasn't hit out of the park.
And therein lies the beauty of the game of baseball.
Sure, baseball manufacturers could, say, plant GPS devices in every single ball to end such controversy. Likewise, MLB could deploy laser beams across home plate to call balls and strikes within a thousandth of an inch.
Technically, in fact, umpires could be completely replaced by video cameras and laser sensors—but then we would lose all those quirks that make baseball the greatest sport in the world.
Part of being able to pitch is learning to pick up on the umpire's strike zone. This is a very underrated skill among aspiring hurlers, with many subtle factors involved.
One of the most exciting moments of any baseball game is when a pitcher paints the outside corner with a slider and the ump has to make a call. Technology could tell us every single time whether or not the ball was in the strike zone—but the truth is that only the pitcher and the umpire know the correct call.
Why?
Because the call is based in part on the cumulative results of the game to that point—and specifically on the relationship the pitcher has established with the ump.
Baseball is the only sport in which managing the officiating is a legitimate and important part of the game. Umpires, while amazingly accurate on quick plays, do make mistakes. But that's been a great part of baseball for over a century.
There's no reason it needs to change now.
Major League Baseball doesn't allow aluminum bats or spitballs. Why should umpires be allowed to cheat when the players are forced to play by century-old rules?
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10 months ago
I think they should try out some limited form of replay, esp in those outfields where the umpires have hard times telling where the painted lines or poles for homeruns are obscured.
You know, those that fight so hard about keeping the game pure are using silly reasoning. We all tend to like the updates in technology in our lives. Computers, computer smart cars, i-pods, cell-phones, hell, even cordless phones. I wouldn't even consider instant replay new technology...just something from the 30-40 years, that has been trying to reach back and assimilate baseball into real time technology. Last word, would you want you doctor just pushing around your stomach, trying to find a problem where there was pain situated or go ahead and use some of that age old techology like a x-ray, a cat scan, a MRI? Or do you prefer your doctor putting his ear to stomach and hoping he guesses the right thing?
from 10 months ago
Point taken re: outfield calls where the umps have a pretty poor view. Still, what I like about baseball is that it goes against all the "instant gratification" that our society craves these days. To be a ball fan you have to be patient, watch lots of walks, foul balls, mound visits, etc. You have to really understand the subtleties of the game to fully enjoy it - unlike football or hockey where you can be totally ignorant and still enjoy a huge hit. The umps mood/strike zone is just one of the many variables that a true baseball fan loves.
Re: medical treatment - I completely agree with you - if I ever get sick I want to have every piece of technology at my doc's disposal to get me well. However, baseball is just a game. What I love about going to the park to watch my team is that it feels like I'm stepping back in to a time where PEOPLE made a great game, not technology. Baseball is the only sport that has yet to be seriously corrupted by high tech gizmos and hope it stays that way.
10 months ago
Nicely done here, David!
I could see the home-run-cam...but still...
don't sacrifice the integrity/history of the game.
Next thing you know, we'll be seeing red flags thrown on the diamond from the base-coaches, to challenge the umps call.
As for Manny-I'm a die-hard Sox fan-and he has that controversial tendency to stare and admire his shots-as opposed to running it out. His fault, not the umps, or the lack of instant replay.
Good work, great read.
cheers
10 months ago
Mr. McDermott,
Thank you for your article.
I'm a member of an amatuer umpire association in the Northwest. We have had a fantastic debate regarding this issue. Several of my fellow members want limited use to "get the call right". I and a few of my fellow members are absolutely and adamantly opposed. I have tried to articulate some of my reasons against this abomination in the response I posted below;
" It is only ridiculous if getting it right is of no importance. The only reason it has any importance whatsoever is because we, HUMANS, convey an artificial importance onto the GAME. The only purpose to get it right is to satisfy our naturally HUMAN desire to strive for perfection, despite the fact that we are flawed, inperfect beings.
I, like you, and every other member of our species want to get it right. We are all passionate about this endeavor.
The difference between my position and that stated by you is that I prefer to retain the humanity, that which created and sustains the absolute essence, beauty and imperfect perfection of the GAME.
If that makes me a dinosaur, fine, I ll be the best, proudest dinosaur possible.
There is absolutely nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, in this realm of existance or universe that is affected or cares in any way shape or form whatsoever where the ball landed, except we humans. The bat doesn t care. The ball doesn t care. The wall doesn t care. The yellow stripe at the top of the wall doesn t care. The ground doesn t care. The camera doesn t care. The monitor doesn t care. The headphones don t care. The little red flag doesn t care. The endoresements don t care. The World Series share doesn t care. The Earth, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn or Sun don t care. Only HUMANs care.
Baseball was a sport by and for the masses. Everyman s game. Each time we add an artificialy inflated importance to the game we destroy the beauty and HUMANITY without which the GAME would not exist.
I want to get the call right. Every time. Everybody does.
But not at the price of my sole and my humanity.
I can hear your heart break and your sole shatter in every sylable you have written.
You and I think the same on the subject. Unfortunatley, you are resigned to the inevitability of the abomination. I, unfortunatley, am too stupid to accept and yield to this which I KNOW is simply and absolutely WRONG! I want to get this call right, too. Despite the irresistable force carrying it forward.
This is one more step to the final destruction of a wonderful, beautiful and purely HUMAN expression.
That s why that which will remain unspoken here is WRONG!
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