After Review, Bruce Bochy Feels Stronger about Instant Replay
Many may feel that football is behind in the days of technology and instant replay must be installed in the sport. This year's World Cup definitely made a strong case for replay to be placed in sports. There is another sport though that must use it as well.
Major League Baseball (MLB), and Bud Selig in particular, have refused to insert the helpful technology even though it would settle arguments between umpires and managers, players wouldn’t be short-changed and Armando Galarraga would have been awarded his perfect game.
The latest spark to the debate happened at a crucial point in a recent game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. It was a tied game in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Giants threatening to score and win the game.
With runners in scoring position and one out in the inning, a ground ball was hit down to third base and the runner from third took off for the home plate. Travis Ishikawa appeared to be safe as Mets catcher Rod Barajas missed the early tag, but got him once he touched the plate.
Replays clearly showed that Barajas missed the tag and Ishikawa was safe at home for the winning run, although it doesn’t matter in baseball. Right or wrong, what the umpire sees goes, which is unnecessary and just not right. Why should a team be denied a win due to a wrong call? The players should decide games, not the umpires.
As the Giants terrible luck and fate would have it, they would fail to score the winning run in the 9th and eventually lost the game in ten innings.
Understandably, Giants manager Bruce Bochy feels his team was robbed the win and has become a little more inclined to support the use of an expanded instant replay system. After watching umpire Phil Cuzzi's erred call, Bochy feels it is time to do the right thing for teams, umpires, and the sport of baseball.
"I've been a proponent -- not a real strong one, but a little bit stronger now -- of reviewing a call or two a game," Bochy said.
Bochy admitted he doesn’t have a suggestion as to what exactly a new replay system could entail, but he did propose a way for managers to indicate they want a play examined. He suggested that the MLB borrow from the custom of NFL coaches to throw a red handkerchief when they request a replay. Bochy playfully said, "We [can] have a special baseball to throw out there."
He also added, "I'm sure that on certain calls, the umpires wouldn't mind it, either."
Inevitably, Brody used the example of Jim Joyce’s blown call last month that denied Galarraga a perfect game. As we all know, Galarraga had gotten the 27th out in the perfect game, but the runner was inexplicably called safe, denying him the perfect outing. "I'm sure Jimmy had a tough time getting over that," Brody said.
So if everybody would like to see instant replay instilled, why keep avoiding it? It would be a lot easier on umpires as they will be able to correct mistakes and no team has to feel this after a game ever again.
In any sport, we know athletes aren’t perfect and will make mistakes. Since they are the participants in the game, we of course accept their imperfections and even embrace them. By the same token, we have to expect umpires and referees to make mistakes, too. However, since they are not the participants, their errors should not decide a game being played by players. Therefore, replay must be implemented so that umpires don’t have to feel bad after mistakes and all will be fair and right in the sports world. It’s so simple, so why has it been made so difficult in MLB?
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