Replay Review…Review
On April 11th in the 9th inning of a 6–6 game between division rivals, the Phillies’ Alec Bohm was called safe at home scoring the game’s deciding run. The instant replay painted a different picture, showing Bohm’s foot above the plate as his back leg was tagged. The play went to review in New York where the call was upheld, handing the Braves the loss.
The replay process took over 3 minutes and still managed to get the play wrong. While this result may be the anomaly, let’s be clear that nobody watches baseball to stare at three guys in black with headsets on. No replay system will ever be perfect, but is the current system the best version?
Some may argue with this, but the best version for me must meet two criteria. First, let’s try to get as many calls right as possible in a reasonable time. Second, let’s make the game as enjoyable as possible.
The first criteria, the quest for perfection, could be attained by taking more time or hiring a horde of experts to review the play in minute detail. You could add extra cameras. The reality is we’re not going to spend the money to hire those people. We won’t take the time to review 10 extra angles.
The success rate is acceptable in the current form, but the breaks in the action, adding time to an already long game, leave something to be desired. What options do we have?
Option 1: Make the manager immediately challenge the play. The manager currently gets 30 seconds to challenge. This necessitates a behind the scenes person in the team’s video room quickly looking at video. That person is connected to another coach on a phone in the dugout who then gives a thumbs up or thumbs down to the manager. With the home plate umpire staring into the dugout, the manager gives the big reveal.
A disheartened wave signals play to resume. This sometimes means the runner waiting around at second base (who always thinks they’re safe) has to jog in and find a seat on the bench. For the other option, the manager makes the universal sign for replay and places two cupped hands over his ears. This commences the umpire trot. This is great theatre.
Instead, if we make the manager decide immediately, we do a few things. We remove around 25 seconds, not just for the plays that go to review, but for a couple other plays per game where the team decides not to challenge.
More importantly, we add something interesting to the game. Instead of watching a game of telephone where the decision is made by someone buried beneath the stands, we put the onus on the manager. If it is an obvious challenge, they get it right. If it isn’t obvious, perhaps we get something to write about or talk about at the water cooler.
This will have additional impact. First, you are unlikely to get the challenges where a runner happens to come off the base by a quarter inch in one frame of the video. I don’t think these were the intent of replay in the first place. You will solve all of the very obvious Don Denkinger or Jim Joyce calls. That leaves the middle ground of 50/50 calls to get right, and that will fall almost squarely on the manager.
This method takes us a little further away from perfection, but adds a more enjoyable game flow and an additional twist. Verdict: Do it.
Option 2: Have a dedicated 5th official for each game. Currently, a pool of officials is at the MLB headquarters in New York. That means it takes longer to get up to speed on the current play and there is no transparency to know who makes the call. The dedicated official doesn’t have to be a Major League umpire, but must be someone who knows the rules and is good at using video review software. Verdict: Do it.
Option 3: Give one of the umpires an ear piece and a microphone. There really is no reason to have the umps run to third base and put on head sets. They can have a direct line to New York and a microphone to announce the result of the review. This is an easy one. Verdict: Do it!
Option 4: Allow more plays to be reviewed. Let’s allow interference, foul tips, base paths rulings, and more to be reviewed. Just because a play is subjective, it doesn’t mean it can’t be reviewed. Verdict: Do it.
Altogether, the four changes above will make for a quicker and more entertaining game. What do you think? How would you fix replay?
