Breaking News Alert: updated 8/26
Despite the cancellation of a proposed conference call between officials of Major League Baseball and the umpiring union last Tuesday, after the umps' governing board voted to boycott the call, the union agreed to allow MLB to begin instant replay.
It was confirmed by espn.com on Tuesday afternoon that replay for home run calls will start on Thursday.
Angry that their concerns weren't being addressed, the umps had skipped the call that was intended to discuss implementing replay. Instant replay will be used for boundary calls, such as determining whether balls cleared fences for home runs and whether potential homers near foul poles were fair
Umpires weren't happy that replay equipment is being set up away from the field and that MLB wants to limit the number of umpires allowed to review replay monitors.
World Umpires Association spokesman Lamell McMorris said that other than at Chase Field in Phoenix, the equipment will cause umpires to leave the field. "Thus, there will be a lack of transparency and obviousness for the public as to what is going on when instant replay is under way," he said.
They also don't like that MLB wants them to discuss the replays with umpire supervisors in New York before making a decision on whether to reverse a call.
Other concerns included placement of batters and runners after a changed call, how crew chiefs will communicate decisions to the teams, official scorer, media and fans, as well as how to secure the cabinets where the equipment is stored.
But apparently they made enough progress on the major items that they agreed to move forward last Wednesday. They agreed to revisit some of the remaining issues as the deal progresses.
Come to think of it, I hope this works smoothly or MLB will have another black eye to its reputation. What do you think?
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