In its relative infancy, the replay system that Major League Baseball has employed, so far, has ran pretty smoothly. We aren’t getting as many meltdowns from managers, but the pace of the game isn’t slowing down, and the umpires are getting the calls right. That is exactly what replay is there for: to get the call right.
In today’s Yankees vs. Red Sox game in the Bronx, the Sox manager, John Farrell, decided to use his challenge on a Dean Anna double. Let’s go to the video.
Now, I understand that it seems silly to contest this play. Farrell and the rest of the Red Sox dugout would have to have been playing pretty close attention to have seen Anna’s foot come off of the bag for the split second that it did. But, that’s why there are challenges, his foot did come off the bag and Xander Bogaerts was still applying the tag when that happened.
/checks rulebook
/nods
Anna is out.
7.08
Any runner is out when —(c) He is tagged, when the ball is alive, while off his base. EXCEPTION: A batter-runner cannot be tagged out after overrunning or oversliding first base if he returns immediately to the base.
Clear cut and simple, right? Well, yeah, if you believe in purity. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports apparently, feels that siding with the umpires on this one is the proper angle. Although, he did not side with them right away.
By the letter of the law, that call should have been overturned. Clear evidence that Anna came off the base.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2014
File this one under “hur der.”
That said, I wonder if the replay ump looked at that and said, 'The spirit of this system isn't to change a call like that.'
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2014
This would imply that the umpire acted out of spite and specifically chose to award a call in favor of one team over the other even though the evidence shown did not support his decision. I can’t wait to see an umpire who is so obviously biased calling a game during the playoffs.
Spirit of replay isn't to get every single call right. The purpose is to keep future Jim Joyces off the evening news.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2014
No, the purpose of replay is to get the damn call right. Always. Every single time. Not to let pride get in the way of the proper call.
Through that lens, I can see how a replay umpire looked at that and said "safe." Not saying it is right or wrong. Just human nature.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2014
Man up, Jon. You’re saying that he is right when he is obviously wrong.
Think about it: If MLB wanted to make EVERY call right they would have unlimited manager challenges and review balls/strikes. Not the case.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2014
If MLB wanted to get every call right, they would have implented…wait for it…INSTANT REPLAY! Which, they did. An umpire should always have the mindset that every call that he makes is going to be the right one, its his job, and they get paid crazy-good money to get the calls right. The reason that managers don’t have unlimited challenges is because, in reality, umpires aren’t wrong all that often. In fact, they usually get the calls right. The reason that it is pointless for managers to be allowed to argue balls and strikes is because, their angle from the dugout sucks.
The reason that replay has become so important is because of plays like this, this and, of course, this. Some that looked almost intentional, others left umpires to be an emotional wreck going into the next day’s game. The technology has been available for a long time, and now that MLB has it, and is using it, let’s not sour it because of hubris.
Why this diatribe was even necessary is beyond me. But, to that point, any umpire who shows blatant disregard for the tools available to him should be tarred, feathered and pulled around the country via dog sled so that people could see what sinful pride looks like. As for national writers who perpetuate this kind of crap, I imagine that a little waterboarding while being forced to listen to Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday album on repeat would be sufficient torture.