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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Yellen: At Last, MLB Expands Replay Review—ALMOST Far Enough

More inter-league games! Expanded instant replay!! Elston Howard Batting Donuts don’t really work!!!.....MY HELL AWAITS!!!!

All baseball fans should give credit to MLB and MLBPA negotiators, who have agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement that extends labor peace for five more years. By the end of this deal, there will be 21 consecutive years without a labor stoppage in baseball. There are a number of important things agreed to by the two parties, but to me, the most important change is this one:

Rosenthal: New CBA will expand instant replay to include fair/foul and “trapped” ball plays, subject to discussions between #MLB and umpires.

So that means that home-run calls, fair/foul and trapped/caught plays will be subject to review, once MLB and the umpires agree on a method to conduct such reviews. Since up to now, only home run calls have been reviewed, adding extra calls will add extra time to games.

...Baseball is tiptoeing in the right direction by adding fair/foul and trapped/caught plays to replay. Here’s hoping that it doesn’t take them too much longer to add safe/out calls, and join the NFL, NBA and NHL, the three other major North American professional sports leagues, in reviewing all important plays that could affect the outcome of a game. That way, the results can accurately reflect what the players actually do on the field. At last, MLB is going to get most of the calls right; let’s hope this is a step toward eventually getting all the calls right.

Repoz Posted: November 22, 2011 at 08:56 PM | 25 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
  Tags: business, media, television

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   1. Shredder Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:08 PM (#3999731)
I'm curious as to how this will work. On fair or foul calls, you could advise umps to rule every close play as fair, because you can always just negate everything if the replay shows the ball was foul. But how do you do that on trap plays? That messes with tag ups, the number of outs, etc. I guess you could say "only use replay on trap balls when there's nobody on base", and give a directive to call every close play a trap, subject to review. I'm not an anti-replay zealot, but I don't like this.
   2. JJ1986 Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:15 PM (#3999734)
But how do you do that on trap plays? That messes with tag ups, the number of outs, etc.


They already reverse these plays occasionally. Umps use their judgment to place runners.
   3. SouthSideRyan Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:22 PM (#3999740)
Of course this is the type of #### a clown like Yellon is most concerned with in the CBA.
   4. SoSH U at work Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:23 PM (#3999743)
If the next revelation in the new CBA is that any time a balding, overweight man in his 40s enters the ballpark, he's going to get kicked in the nuts, I wouldn't be at all surprised. I haven't liked anything these guys have agreed to.
   5. Lassus Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:24 PM (#3999746)
I'm curious as to how this will work.

I consider myself one of the least negative people here, but my first thought is: badly.
   6. RJ in TO Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:29 PM (#3999754)
I haven't liked anything these guys have agreed to.

I'm strongly inclined to agree with this statement - more interleague, more replays, more invasive testing, screwing around with draft picks, screwing around with compensation, and so on. This really isn't filling me with basebally joy.
   7. RB in NYC (Now Semi-Retired from BBTF) Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:33 PM (#3999760)
If the next revelation in the new CBA is that any time a balding, overweight man in his 40s enters the ballpark, he's going to get kicked in the nuts, I wouldn't be at all surprised.
I'd love to see what company would sponsor that promotion.
   8. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:37 PM (#3999763)
I don't watch a lot of football but i'm always amazed at how often I see a replay decision that I disagree with. This idea that replay is infallible doesn't jibe with my experience.
   9. Sleepy was just looking for porta potties Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:37 PM (#3999764)
At last, MLB is going to get most of the calls right; let’s hope this is a step toward eventually getting all the calls right.


Definitely sounds like a step in the right direction, depending on how they implement it. Sadly, sounds like they forgot to include robot umpires, this time around.

Is there a pdf of the agreement anywhere?
   10. trtaylor6886 Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:41 PM (#3999770)
@4 Just the motivation I need to keep my weight under control.
   11. Gotham Dave Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:45 PM (#3999774)
more interleague, more replays, more invasive testing, screwing around with draft picks, screwing around with compensation, and so on. This really isn't filling me with basebally joy.
Yeah, these are all questionable decisions, but I think things like this always seem worse in the offseason. Once April rolls around we'll just be so ecstatic that they're playing baseball that it wouldn't matter if they turned the All Star Game into a best of 7 with 200 man rosters which was used to decide annual realignment somehow.
   12. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: November 22, 2011 at 09:47 PM (#3999776)
Wadding up all the changes into one big ball of bad seems odd to me. Shouldn't the people who dislike the randomness of the postseason format be inclined towards replay, since it's intended to make outcomes less random?
   13. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: November 22, 2011 at 10:02 PM (#3999791)
this will not end well...
   14. CrosbyBird Posted: November 22, 2011 at 10:35 PM (#3999817)
I wonder how difficult it would be to have some of these calls done by machine rather than man. Fair-foul is an entirely objective question, and you'd think we'd already be able to have these calls made by computer.

Similarly, how difficult or expensive would it be to have sensors in the bases to detect when the runner touches them? The blown calls in those video clips are pretty outrageous.
   15. Astro Logical Sign Stealer Posted: November 22, 2011 at 10:45 PM (#3999823)
reviewing all important plays that could affect the outcome of a game


Why stop there? I demand that every play be reviewed, because sometimes humans don't notice when a play should be reviewed, being human and all. It just isn't FAIR!

I don't care how long it takes, we are going to get the calls RIGHT. This isn't a game people. It's serious business.
   16. Tricky Dick Posted: November 22, 2011 at 11:24 PM (#3999840)
With respect to the new CBA: I think the changes on draft pick and international signing bonus pools will provide an advantage to teams that figure out how to game the system. The ability to trade cap space could be a rule provision that can be maximized by teams with the best strategy experts. It reminds somewhat of the comparative advantages that arose for NFL and NBA teams that hired or developed the best capologists during the early days of their salary caps.
   17. Jesse Barfield's Right Arm Posted: November 23, 2011 at 12:17 AM (#3999864)
But how do you do that on trap plays? That messes with tag ups, the number of outs, etc. I guess you could say "only use replay on trap balls when there's nobody on base", and give a directive to call every close play a trap, subject to review.


This is the problem. When the NFL started replays, there were so many examples of players clearly being down before a fumble, but the referees allowed the play to go on because it was reviewable. Replay led to far more bad calls that were made.

And sorry, but this doesn't even remotely reduce human error. It just shifts responsibility from the umpires to cameramen and directors.
   18. Robert in Manhattan Beach Posted: November 23, 2011 at 12:35 AM (#3999868)
Finally more of what baseball needs most: Stoppages in play and standing around.
   19. The Interdimensional Council of Rickey!'s Posted: November 23, 2011 at 12:57 AM (#3999878)
I don't really care about this. I mean, literally, I don't care about it much at all.
   20. charityslave is thinking about baseball Posted: November 23, 2011 at 01:17 AM (#3999883)
I'd like replay a lot better if it was limited, like in the NFL. The manager could have 3 challenges for the entire game and there would be a replay official upstairs to judge the play. Maybe you get one more challenge if the game goes extra innings. Since It's usually easy to review plays in the dugout before the next pitch is thrown, most challenges would probably be successful. I think this is the best way to maximize the value of the challenge and minimize the effect it will have on pace and game times.
   21. Lassus Posted: November 23, 2011 at 01:32 AM (#3999890)
Sadly, sounds like they forgot to include robot umpires, this time around.

Make it robot fans and you've got a deal!
   22. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: November 23, 2011 at 02:04 AM (#3999905)
I'd like replay a lot better if it was limited, like in the NFL. The manager could have 3 challenges for the entire game and there would be a replay official upstairs to judge the play. Maybe you get one more challenge if the game goes extra innings.


God, please no. If it's about getting calls right, why on earth should it hinge on a coach's decision?

Of course, anybody who thinks that replay is about getting the calls right has never actually watched an NFL game.
   23. Ben Broussard Ramjet Posted: November 23, 2011 at 08:00 AM (#4000007)
I'd like replay a lot better if it was limited, like in the NFL. The manager could have 3 challenges for the entire game and there would be a replay official upstairs to judge the play.


If you did implement this system - they've recently started using something similar in cricket - I don't understand why you'd have more than 1 challenge per team, that was only used up if you challenge incorrectly. You don't want managers burning challenges 'just in case' something turns out different on replay; you want replay to prove where there's been an important, flagrant mistake.

Reducing the number of available challenges to 1 basically should ensure that they're only used a) in a desperate case, such as the last inning of a close game, or b) where there's been an obvious miscarriage of justice. Both of which are times where you'll live with the delay, rather than resent having a team burn their second challenge in the 6th inning of a 9-2 game because, hey, it's a free asset, and you might as well.
   24. Yclept Posted: November 23, 2011 at 10:08 PM (#4000406)
If the next revelation in the new CBA is that any time a balding, overweight man in his 40s enters the ballpark, he's going to get kicked in the nuts, I wouldn't be at all surprised.


I'd love to see what company would sponsor that promotion.


RB in Boston, not a company, a union. The National Urologists Union.
   25. OCD SS Posted: November 23, 2011 at 11:15 PM (#4000439)
Finally more of what baseball needs most: Stoppages in play and standing around.


This is a structural problem. The easiest solution to keep play moving is to put an umpire in a replay booth in radio contact with the on-field crew. That umpire can call in decisions or otherwise let the appropriate crew members know what he sees... it would add another umpire to the crew, which their union should like...

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