Is Instant Replay Bad for Baseball?

           For years now, MLB and its fans have been asking themselves why baseball doesn’t have instant replay. Now, it looks like Major League Baseball has finally caught up with the NBA, NFL, and NHL. Turns out MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has been busy the last few seasons letting players, umpires, and General Managers speak their minds about instant replay. 

After plenty of paper work and interviews, Selig has decided that instant replay should work well in baseball.  According to ESPN.com, Selig said, “I want to make sure that if and when we do it, it's really good, it's perfect.” Sports media outlets report Selig as saying that all the ball parks in the MLB are getting prepped for instant replay. 

            Now, the big question floating in the air is:  When will MLB replay be ready?  Some people have said by the 22^nd of this month, but that’s Friday, so I don’t see that happening.  I think the leagues would love to use it by the end of the regular season and, of course, in the Playoffs and World Series. We’ll have to wait and see.

But we also have to ask how instant replay will affect the game, if at all.  One negative I can think of is that the umpires will lose the chance to call homeruns or foul balls. On a questionable call, as I see it, that will take away some of the umpires’ authority on the field, and diminish the thrill of the game.

            Next to that  is how often teams will be able to challenge a call?  Will it be like the NFL, where you can challenge two calls in the game or more than that? All of these questions will be answered as soon as replay makes its debut.

In the long run, I think it will work out and not take too much away from the game, other than making the umpires a little less important.