Pon de Replay

So this past weekend the left field line umpire clearly missed a seemingly easy fair/foul call that robbed Joe Mauer of a double. Instead, he got a single later on in the at bat. The next batter got a single, and one would assume Mauer would have scored. Instead, the Twins got no runs that half inning and eventually lost the game.

At the end of the day the Twins didn't really lose too much because they would have eventually lost the series to the Yankees anyway, and if you can't win the series, nothing matters, right?

This opened up the debate of expanding the parameters of instant replay. Purists claim if you allowed more things to be reviewed, a) the game's "rhythm" would be disrupted and b) there would be no end to what can be reviewed.

Though I don't agree with either of these arguments, I do believe there needs to be a change. The bottom line is that human error by an umpire should never factor into the outcome of a game.

So how do you do it? A typical baseball game has four umpires - one at each base. In the playoffs they add two more to left and right field on the fair/foul line. I propose that you have one more official at all times in a booth. He will watch the game as the fan at home sees it, with replays. At any time, at his discretion, he can stop play and overrule any review eligible call made on the field if he believes a wrong call was made. Obviously, he will be advised to err on the side of the call made on the field and to reverse only when there is clear visual evidence the call made on the field was wrong.

This solution addresses both arguments.

1. The game's rhythm is not disrupted. Changes will be made without prompting from the manager, so they can be made promptly. The fact of the matter is that play is stopped when there is a close play because one of the managers runs on to the field to talk to the umps. During this time the replay ump can watch the replay, and chances are he will have the correct ruling by the time the first words of the on-field conversation between ump and manager are even spoken.

2. Where do you draw the line? In the NFL there are plays that cannot be challenged. The same will be the case in this system. Any calls that are based on judgement (balls and strikes, interference, running outside the basepath) cannot be reversed by the replay umpire. Fair/foul, safe/out at a base, check swings all should be able to be reviewed and corrected by the replay official.

Major League Baseball needs a system like this. This will ensure that the "rhythm" of the game is not interrupted and it will also ensure that as many calls as possible are made correctly.