MLB Review Process/Replay

[AthleticsFan]

What is the point in MLB having video reviews/replay if the umpires can't even get the call right? At some point, the umpires have to be held accountable.

Watch the video and judge for yourself.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130508&content_id=47017588&vkey=news_oak&c_id=oak

[athletics61]

I was watching that game here in central Ohio. I love my A's and this is one of the few times I get to see them on television. I agree that the call was wrong, but we still had a chance to take the lead by loading the bases and could not get it done.

Don.

[earlywynnfan]

Also watching the game, rooting on my Tribe, so the blown call worked well for me. I don't know how they missed it, or what angle they were looking at. Even the Tribe announcers were stunned.

BUT: after you've had the night to cool down, let me ask you this: How many days are you absolutely perfect in your job? Have you ever biffed?

Ken

[coxfan]

These comments are only general; not necessarily specific to this case. I'm for umpires having discretion to use replay any time they want: In the blown perfect game, that would have saved the ump and the pitcher a lot of life-long grief. But the available technology must be used. With all the cameras around, was there only one angle available? Did the umpires' TV have slo-mo or magnifying capability that the network had?

A lot of the South Carolina Gamecocks' games are televised these days, and I see cameras all over the place. So there could've been up to four angles available even in college games. A long-view angle may not be adequate to show the "going-away" dimension to the umpires' 100 % criterion. Again, these comments are just general.

[swainer]

I don't understand why all sports do not have a replay official that sits up in a booth and has access to all of the replays/angles etc and his/her ruling is binding. I'm not sure if it would have mattered in this case but I would surely think so. It takes too much time away from the game and as a general rule, most people don't like to admit mistakes. So if the call is on the fence, they would tend to stick to the original call. That element would be out of the equation completely if there were another official reviewing the play.

[NEFAN]

Umpires and referees should get fined when they blow calls. That would make them be more careful.

[coxfan]

The statements by both MLB (Torre) and the Crew Chief focus on what technology ( different angles, etc) was available to the umpires there, and whether they knew how to use it.

[coxfan]

I'm sure most of us have noticed that MLB has appointed an elite sub-committee, chaired by John Schuerholtz (spelled correctly?), with Torre and La Russa, to look at the whole world of replay possibilities. The current article on mlb.com, which mainly quotes Torre, makes interesting reading about the special challenges involved with baseball in this area.