Instant replay
From BR Bullpen
Instant replay was introduced by Major League Baseball on August 28, 2008. MLB became the last of the four major North American sports leagues to use instant replay, mostly over the objections of baseball purists and commissioner Bud Selig, who believe that replays break the longstanding tradition of putting each game's fate in the hands of the umpires on the field. Others object to replays lenghtening an already long game.
The instant replay only applies to home run calls in three situations:
- to determine whether the ball is fair or foul;
- to determine if the ball has left the playing field;
- to determine if the home run was subject to fan interference.
The decision to ask for instant replay to be used is made by the umpire crew chief, who can also decide if a call should be reversed.
Every Major League ballpark now has a television monitor and a secure telephone link to MLB headquarters in New York, where every game being played is monitored by an expert technician and either an umpire supervisor or a former umpire. Should the crew chief at the ballpark decide to ask for the instant replay to be used, he calls the technician in New York who transmits the appropriate footage to the crew chief and umpire crew (the umpire supervisor or former umpire at MLB headquartes is not in direct communication with any of the umpires at the ballpark).
The crew chief must have clear and convincing evidence that the call made by the umpire on the field was incorrect, and the decision to reverse the call rests solely with the crew chief. Once the instant replay has been used, the decision is final; neither team is allowed to argue the decision taken by the crew chief to either reverse the call made on field, or to let it stand.
Should a home run call be reversed, the crew chief then decides on the placement of the baserunners.
Further to their advertising deal with MLB during the 2008 season, all monitors used for the instant replay are SHARP Aquos models. [[1]]
[edit] First use of the instant replay
The first MLB instant replay was used after a hit by Yankee Alex Rodriguez during a game on September 3, 2008 at Tropicana Field. The hit was initially ruled to be a home run by third base umpire Brian Runge, but the manager and catcher from the Tampa Bay Rays argued that the ball was foul and asked for a review. After a discussion among the umpires, the crew chief allowed the replay to take place, and the home run call was upheld.
[edit] Sources
Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Instant_replay". also used: [[2]]
