Firstly, I am an advocate for umpires being allowed to make the decision and it stand, with at most it going to a meeting of the umpires. This October, they have made some absolutely abismal calls, or haven't made some calls, whichever way you want to look at it. With all of this, the demand for Instant Replay is at an even higher level. Fans want the right calls made, and more times than not they are. I was reading an article on ESPN.com that said something to the effect of, "Umpires are like long snappers in the NFL. They usually go unnoticed, but if they mess up, everyone is on their backs". I would say it is a fairly good assessment. What is amazing though, is that the only reason Instant Replay is now being demanded by the fans, is because announcers and sports anchors on ESPN or local sports stations keep pointing out the mistakes of the umpires.
Baseball is a game of human error. I mean for fucks sake, if a batter hits for a .300 batting average, roughly 3-10 for those that need the conversion, he is considered to be having a very good season, and anything more than that is gravy. Within the past 4-5 years, umpires have been under the microscope because their eyes can't catch what replay can. It has always been like that in baseball. Go back to Royals vs. Cardinals in the World Series and you have the exact same thing where the ump missed the call at 1st base. That was the first time, that I know of, where an umpire's call was as highly publicized. Umpires have not changed the way they call games. It has been like this since the creation of the game.
Now ESPN also said that Instant Replay could be used in moderation, outside of home run calls. Like the NFL, each coach has a challenge flag or something, only gets to use it once, and then goes about the game.
So what do you guys think? Should Bud Selig make it so that Managers can have one challenge per game? Should the umpires be left alone because of the fact that baseball is based on human error? Also, if the umpires weren't under as much scrutiny for Instant Replay, do you think they would be making the same errors they are now, because I am sure the thought that they need to make the right call so they don't get bitched on is a pretty weighing idea.
Baseball is a game of human error. I mean for fucks sake, if a batter hits for a .300 batting average, roughly 3-10 for those that need the conversion, he is considered to be having a very good season, and anything more than that is gravy. Within the past 4-5 years, umpires have been under the microscope because their eyes can't catch what replay can. It has always been like that in baseball. Go back to Royals vs. Cardinals in the World Series and you have the exact same thing where the ump missed the call at 1st base. That was the first time, that I know of, where an umpire's call was as highly publicized. Umpires have not changed the way they call games. It has been like this since the creation of the game.
Now ESPN also said that Instant Replay could be used in moderation, outside of home run calls. Like the NFL, each coach has a challenge flag or something, only gets to use it once, and then goes about the game.
So what do you guys think? Should Bud Selig make it so that Managers can have one challenge per game? Should the umpires be left alone because of the fact that baseball is based on human error? Also, if the umpires weren't under as much scrutiny for Instant Replay, do you think they would be making the same errors they are now, because I am sure the thought that they need to make the right call so they don't get bitched on is a pretty weighing idea.
