by Chris Messner

Created on: August 07, 2011

There's an old axiom among those who've played and followed baseball for a long time: "The breaks even out".

That means the call that goes against you or your team today will go your way next time around. 

Yes, the technology exists to provide swift and (usually, but not always) decisive reviews of disputed plays or calls during a game. But would expanding instant replay in Major League Baseball be the right thing to do?

Well, if you are Armando Galarraga, you might say, "Absolutely!". On June 2, 2010, Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game by umpire Jim Joyce's horrible call at first base, on what would have been the final out. Clearly, instant replay would have corrected the injustice and Galarraga would have joined the small, elite group of pitchers who've pitched an entire game without allowing a single base-runner.

Are you a serious baseball fan? Yeah? Then step back and take a few deep breaths. Baseball is a TEAM game. Individual achievements only matter in the context of the team winning. You've heard players say over and over they'd be happy to give back their 4 hits or their home runs or stolen bases, or whatever, if only their team had been able to win.

What made the situation worse was that Joyce readily admitted he made a mistake! So what, Jim?

What he should have done, what would have been the RIGHT thing to do, would have been to confer with the other umpires on the play before the game continued. When asked about that, Joyce said he didn't pow-wow with the other umps because he felt it was his call to make. So, he really wasn't interested in getting the call right. He was more concerned about his territory.

The next day Joyce worked the plate and he came out crying (obviously, he never saw the movie "A League of Their Own", because there is NO CRYING in baseball!) as he accepted the lineup card from Galarraga, who was very gracious in shaking hands with Joyce. Galarraga went home with a beautiful one-hit shutout, and his team won the game, so the whole uproar about the blown call was, seriously, a non-issue, just a distraction. The call did not affect the outcome of the game.  That's the bottom line.

Yes, if you watch even just a few games a year, you're going to see several disputed plays and calls. Even proponents of expanded reply in MLB admit that its use would have to be limited, as it is in the NFL. There's no way that every disputed call or play could be reviewed.

Plus, even supporters of MLB replay say balls and strikes would

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