Thursday, May 16, 2013
MLB hoping for large replay expansion in 2014
(sports.yahoo.com)
Read More...Major League Baseball appears set for a vast expansion of video review by umpires in 2014 and is examining whether all calls other than balls or strikes should be subject to instant replay.
Replay has been in place for home run calls since August 2008. Commissioner Bud Selig initially wanted to add trap plays and fair/foul calls down the lines for 2013, but change was put off while more radical options were examined.
‘‘My opinion has evolved,’’ baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday ...
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. bobm posted on May 18, 2012 at 03:09 PM # hit 0 | hit 0Doesn't look intentional, but Davidson did balk Hamels twice in a game (40% of Hamels' career balks) a couple weeks ago, so there's probably just history built up.
I don't know about Cousins, but those other four are definitely the bottom of the barrel.
Are they actually bad at making calls, or are they bad at provoking jackassian confrontations?
It seems like this is just a list of the most visible/recognizable umpires.
Which may be the same thing as being bad - but I'm just trying to pin it down.
West shows up on both lists?
And is Joyce appearing simply because he blew a high profile call and cried instead of yelled?
Yeah, apparently he's a divisive figure.
He's popular among the widespread \"#######\" demographic.
This is why West shows up on both lists. I believe he's the most jackassian of all umps, but his reputation for making calls is actually pretty good.
I think he had a pretty good reputation before that.
But he's also a spectacularly unprofessional jerk.
I think Joyce had a pretty good reputation before that.
Yes, which made the incident all the more unfortunate for everyone involved, including us.
At least MLB isn't doing the "Huh? What? What are you talking about?! What controversy?!" bit on their website they do at games, where they refuse to show disputed calls on the Jumbotron.
Interestingly enough, NFL referees don't have the reputation for high profile, confrontational, pig-headed arrogance some baseball umpires have. Baseball might constructively look at that sport's track record here and find a way to force umpires to emulate their NFL counterparts' low-key approach.
I think there's just one ref in the entire history of my experience with the NFL that I would recognize...and that was only as "Hey! That guys does all the games!"
There's probably some 15 or more umps I could name or know by face.
And calling balls and strikes is inherently controversial, since humans are simply incapable of it to begin with, even if the umps called an honest zone.
I think keeping order in baseball is more difficult than in any other sport, since there's essentially no punishment between allowing the player to let off steam about blown (or perceived blown) call with no penalty and ejection. I think the unsportmanlike penalty and technical foul options serve to reduce some of the tension between the two combatants.
How could anyone not like his umpiring in The Naked Gun?
Yeah, and he was also the ump who called George Brett out in the Pine Tar game (when he was a rookie, or nearly so) and Matt Holliday safe in game 163. All that notwithstanding, he's held in high esteem by players.
Really? WTF?
Doesn't look intentional
In the video, after the play Schneider (the Phillies Catcher) appears to say to Davidson "my bad." It wasn't the catcher's fault, but interesting to see he had the presence of mind not to piss the umpire off.
When someone shows me a shot of Holliday missing the plate, I'll listen. Otherwise, I'm going with the guy who was five feet (or less) away from the play.
Granted those are some incompetent giants to climb over but who does Bill Hohn have to fist bump to get some name recognition as the ####### he is?
Hmm, that links to a picture of Madeleine Albright. I guess now we know what you do in your spare time.
Hohn is retired. Hasn't umped since 2010.
Not exactly a MENSA meeting, is it?
but no question that balking bob, eddings, bucknor and angel hernandez are the bottom of the barrell.
i have read a bunch of places that players think highly of jim joyce and tim mcclelland. there are a few other guys who are really good calling the actual strike zone and don't vary it depending on the player and the pitcher.
i didn't realize bill hohn retired with bobby cox. i guess not having bobby around to toss made life not worth umping
Watch an animated GIF of umpire Gary Darling spitting his gum at Bobby V on Friday night:
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/19087843/gif-bobby-valentine-assaulted-with-umpire-gum
I'm not sure about Eric Cooper on making calls, but he certainly seems to have the most hair-trigger temper of any ump. He'll go apeshit over the most seemingly mundane things.
If you can get away with such an annoying eccentricity as McClelland's, then you probably really ARE good at your job.
I mean, it's as clear as day: "You think I wanted to block his ass? What the hell are you yelling at?"
You should be an umpire.
The structure of baseball has no place to apply a penalty. In the other sports, going postal on an official costs you 15 yards, two minutes, or technical foul shots, or even multiples of each of the above. Baseball has no penalty short of ejection. And even then the differential drop to a replacement player is very low over the timespan of one game.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.