MLB Replays Gone Wrong?

Replays can be important in any sport at any time. The official could make a call and be sure that they’re correct but then an instant replay could prove them wrong. In the NFL a ref could call a touchdown when a player seemed to have caught it in bounds, but the coach of the other team may call a challenge. Then the challenge shows that the players foot was clearly out of bounds. That could save a team the game. The replay system was recently brought into the MLB when the players union and the MLB itself approved it. Everybody thought it would be great because a lot of bad calls are made. But, what about when the replay call is bad?

The first example of this was after a Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees game last month. John Farrel, manager of the Red Sox, said, “ It’s hard to have any faith in the system.” after a 3-2 loss to the Yankees where a bad replay call seems to have costed them the game. It happened in just the fourth inning when a call was initially called a double play on Kelly Johnson and Francisco Cervelli that would have ended the inning, but was later reversed. Joe Girardi called for the replay and got the call, but Farrel did not agree because he also saw the replay and believed that there was no conclusive evidence that the call should have been overturned. He went out to argue with the umpire about the call, but it did not last long as first base umpire Bob Davidson ejected him from the game almost immediately.

When looking at the play, it would appear that the ball reached the glove of first baseman Mike Napoli before Cervelli reached first base, but there was no way to be clear. The umpire’s argument was that the ball was not in the back of Napoli’s glove when Cervelli made it, but it is when the ball reaches the inside of the glove period, so that was a terrible call. Not just that, but from any angle you look at it from, you can’t be sure that Napoli or Cervelli made it first. So because the fact that there is no conclusive evidence, the play should have stood as called, but the umpire’s didn’t see that.

The very next game they played, Dean Anna, for the Yankees, hit a double. The only thing is, after being called safe, Farrel called for a replay because he believed that Anna stepped off the bag while Xander Bogaerts had a tag on him. The umpire’s reviewed the play for a while, they called the play as it stood, even though in the replay you can clearly see that Anna should have been called out since he took his foot off while the tag was being applied. Farrel was pretty upset because that was two bad calls that should have been the other way around and affected his team entirely. After the game, though, the MLB announced that the play indeed should have been reversed.

On the other hand, though, it has also benefited a few times. A game not long ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing the San Francisco Giants in a great game. It was 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth and there was two outs as Starling Marte came to the plate. He ended up in a 1-2 situation and had to protect the plate. He didn’t exactly have to as the next pitch was perfect, a fastball right in the sweet spot. Marte sent the ball flying into right field and Hunter Pence did not get a good read on it, it bounced of the wall which allowed Marte to go past second into third. On the relay to third though, it got past Pablo Sandoval, and Marte popped up from his slide and headed home. A perfect throw from Sandoval to catcher Buster Posey got the speedy Marte out, or at least that is what the umpire said. The play being a possible game winner, Clint Hurdle, manager of the Pirates, came out to challenge the play believing that Marte was safe. In the replay, it showed that Marte smartly pulled his left hand away from the tag long enough to let his right hand slide to the plate before he indeed did get tagged. The play was reversed, and the Pittsburgh Pirates got the first ever replay walk-off win.

Although that replay worked out for them, more things have gone wrong than have gone right. It makes people upset when their team loses because of a bad call and that is understandable, but at the same time, it is the first year that the replays are being used. The fans need to understand that there will be some flaws in the replay system for at least a few years before it is more or less perfected. Just look at the NFL, replays have been there for practically forever, yet there are still controversial calls, even on replays. The replays have just begun, and there will be flaws, but as the years go by it will get better. Until then, Play Ball!