MLB expanding replay?

[Sammy Sofa]

Totally superficial, but it would kinda suck to lose that split second of waiting for the ump's response and then reacting to it. We'd all get used to reacting to a light or a buzzer or however the hell they'd signify the calls, but that's probably the one part I'd miss most.

 

you'd still need a home plate umpire to call safe and out at home and to call catcher's interference and whether the batter got hit by a pitch and stuff like that. there's no reason you couldn't just put a thing in his ear and let him signal balls and strikes anyway.

 

Then bring on our robot overlords.

[Banedon]

Totally superficial, but it would kinda suck to lose that split second of waiting for the ump's response and then reacting to it. We'd all get used to reacting to a light or a buzzer or however the hell they'd signify the calls, but that's probably the one part I'd miss most.

 

you'd still need a home plate umpire to call safe and out at home and to call catcher's interference and whether the batter got hit by a pitch and stuff like that. there's no reason you couldn't just put a thing in his ear and let him signal balls and strikes anyway.

 

Yep. Then you can choose your home plate ump by important things....like most entertaining strike grunts.

[davearm2]

I prefer the NHL style, centralized group looking at things so the umpire / referee crew don't have to leave the field. Just get a radio call from HQ.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but the "home office" in Toronto is the second line of replay decision-makers in the NHL. Personnel in the arena look first, and call to Toronto only if they need to.

 

I could have sworn that's how it was set up.

[Banedon]

BP has an article, breaking down in some detail, the baseball game from Star Trek DS9 from 1998. Very nerdy stuff. Near the end, he runs a quote from the episode, where Sisko convinces Odo to be the umpire....

 

"I don't want a computer program calling a baseball game. That's something [the Vulcans] would do. I want a real person behind the plate, not just some collection of photons and magnetic fields."

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15405

[erik316wttn]

i can't believe you bleeding heart liberal commie pinko nutjobs want to replace an american worker with a MACHINE

 

It would have to be an American-made machine.

[dew1679666265]

If Devin Hester does a nifty sideline dance to avoid a defender and steps very close to the line, I want to be able to go nuts when he reaches the end zone and the officials raise their hand. I don't want to be thinking "That was cool but I don't know if it's going to count!"

 

Like was mentioned, that will happen anyway because of fear of flags.

 

On the flipside of your example, however, if Devin Hester does that to the Titans and the replay shows that Hester did, in fact, step out of bounds and the Bears didn't actually earn the TD against my team, I'm going to be pretty pissed. The delayed emotion of elation is going to be there so long as penalties are in the game, but the satisfaction of seeing a bad call reversed in favor of your team won't be there unless replay is in place.