by Bruce Bostwick

Created on: November 06, 2009

Should instant replay be expanded? There have been blown calls by the umpires and that is a fact in the post-season. In fact, for the 2009 one it did seem there were many controversial calls in general. It should be noted that now baseball does have some limited replay when it comes to the Home Run ball on whether it was fair or foul. Even with it, there can still be ways to get it wrong. The human element would still be there and even with a machine, the call can be wrong. It isn't like a machine is doing the talking itself.

The question is about replay being expanded going back to the original point. The only possible way would be used to determine whether a person is safe or out. Of course, there is the great complaint over how much time it will take. The system should take no longer than one minute to see if there is any indisputable evidence. If not, the play stands. If the manager comes out and tries to argue it, it could lead to an automatic ejection.

Before anyone even thinks that balls and strikes should be reviewed, that would be going overboard. Major League Baseball will never allow it to happen and neither will the umpires. Think about it; would you think an umpire would want someone to review whether it was a ball or a strike? Not likely and for that to even become a thought, they would have to be okay with it and that is about as likely as pigs flying. It just isn't going to happen.

There should be more replay but should be used to make sure calls are right. Just make the time limit one minute to view the play and get every single angle possible so that it can be looked at to know if the call is right or not. How many times has a blown call been made that could affect the outcome of a game? It seems to happen quite a few times and it could be more frequent in other markets depending upon the game broadcasted.

If the call has no evidence that is disputable, then the call will stand. The fact remains that it is important to get the call right because of the affect that it could have on a game or even a post-season series. There are other items that do delay games such as a brawl that can happen when pitchers throw at somebody intentionally. That is something that does delay games and of course nature can do the same thing with rain or snow if some areas get it early in September or October for post-season.

It should expand just to check the real close plays at the plate. Going beyond with balls and strikes would simply be asking too much. It is not likely probably due to Bud Selig wanting to keep human error alive and probably is a purist that hates instant replay with a passion but that's probably a good guess.

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