Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires are ruining the game
I’m tired of watching umpires take over and ruin the beautiful game of baseball. Every umpire has their own strike zone and it’s disgusting how some pitches called strikes are clearly outside the strike zone. I admire players for their restraint because it has to be very frustrating to have the current version of the strike zone umpire take away an “at bat” or at least alter it.
Opponents of instant replay say it will ruin the integrity of the game. I say that the referees have already done it. They say it will lengthen playing time, I say it will shorten it. They say it will remove the “human element” from the game and I say it will improve the human element by removing bugs.
Currently, baseball has agreed to use instant replay to review questionable home runs. However, the way they implemented it was wrong. Why have the referees go into a room under the stadium to watch the tape? In a recent game (8-16-11) between the Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, there was a dispute at home. It took them five minutes to review the play and in the end they were still wrong.
It wasn’t the replays’ fault that it took the refs five minutes to make a call (correct or incorrect), it’s the way the process was implemented. What’s the point of three referees walking from the field to an observation room below the stadium, when a fifth referee in a replay booth could have made the correct decision in a matter of seconds?
I’ve read some articles from opponents where they suggest it could take 15 minutes to review a play. That’s ridiculous. Again, for fans watching baseball on TV, we see the replay, many times from several different angles in a matter of seconds.
This hasn’t just started… Remember this one?
Jeffrey Maier was involved in an incident in which he deflected a playable Derek Jeter hit into the stands during Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. His action altered the course of Game 1, as the resulting home run allowed the Yankees to tie the score. They would go on to win the game and the series, four games to one.
What is the Strike Zone?
In fact, there is a definition of a strike zone in the rule book; however, it is certainly not being applied. I love the technology (eg, ESPN’s K-Zone) that television provides us to show where a pitch is in relation to the actual strike zone. One of the arguments opponents of instant replay have is that it will make the game longer. What happens today when an umpire calls a pitch that is outside the strike zone a strike? the batter steps back, adjusts his gloves, stares at the umpire, and finally returns to the batter’s box. How long does that take? multiplied by the number of times this happens in a game. Additionally, the use of technology would eliminate the possibility of players and coaches being banned from matches for discussing strike calls.
A typical example
Based on a real situation, K-Zone shows the pitch as a strike, but not to the umpire that night. He calls it a 4-ball. Batter takes first, loads the bases. The next batter hits a blooper to left for a walk-off single. Instead of the third strike, the batter is awarded a free pass based on an arbitrary strike zone that keeps the inning alive and gives the home team one more chance at victory. There are probably thousands of situations like this during the baseball season. The next night or, indeed, the next batter, that same umpire might call that pitch a strike.
MLB needs to incorporate replay reviews into other areas of the game where missed calls frequently crop up.
Fixing baseball officiating requires a two-pronged approach: (1) significantly expanding the use of technology and (2) completely redefining the roles and responsibilities of umpires.
The technology has been around for 10 years. Why doesn’t MLB use apps like ESPN’s K-Zone to show the exact trajectory of the ball through, around, or out of the strike zone? The best solution here would be to have something like Pitchf/x automatically call every ball and strike. You can communicate electronically with the first, second, and third base umpires to overturn a close call when that umpire misjudges a bang-bang play. If a call is too close to call on replay, then the call in the field will be held.
Technology will improve the game and end disputes between players/managers and referees. The players and the fans want it and I’d bet even most refs want it. They don’t want to make a blunder that will hang over their heads forever.
I love baseball. But I’m sick of inaction. Fans deserve to see their sports fairly judged. Time passes, baseball finally needs to move with it. Given the battle ahead for enlarged reproduction of any kind, I don’t see that day coming anytime soon.
