If you’re a baseball-purist, this shouldn’t make you too happy.
Over the course of this week at the GM meetings in Orlando, Fla., Major League Baseball and it’s owners took one more step closer to implementing expanded replay by approving funding for the project. Commissioner Bud Selig and COO Rob Manfred both expressed confidence that expanded replay will be in place for the 2014 season. According to Ken Davidoff of the NY Post, the new system will cost about $50 million when all is said and done.
Before the game and the human-element are changed forever, the proposal still needs to be approved by the umpires and players, according to Shi Davidi. After that, there will be a final vote in January at the owners’ meetings. MLB ditched their original plan of allowing managers to challenge ONE play from the first six innings, and then two from the seventh to the conclusion of the game. Now, managers can use challenges freely, although it’s not yet known if they will receive one or two.
When a manager challenges, umpires – either former or current – will review the play from the MLB Advanced Media headquarters in Manhattan, NY. The Crew chief on-site at the game will have a headset and will be able to communicate with headquarters. If a manager has exhausted his challenges and umpires make a noticeably bad call, they can come together, discuss and potentially overturn it. Balls and strikes and check swings are not reviewable, but the old “neighborhood play” can be challenged if egregious enough.
This will change the face of baseball forever, as the human-element of the game had been part of the charm of the sport. Like the Wild Card, which was first used in 1995, and the expanded playoffs which began in 2012, expanded replay will take some getting used to and will eventually become part of the fabric of the game.
Replay still needs player and umpire approval. Managers to get a max of two challenges, maybe one. Keep is right, lose if wrong
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) November 14, 2013
