MLB needs replay for postseason
Mike Vaught
Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: Sports
The play of certain teams like the Phillies and Yankees this postseason has been overshadowed by missed calls by the Major League Baseball umpires.
Blown calls have had a serious effect on the outcome of several playoff series this year.
The mistakes that have been made are glaring, and a clear example came during the Twins-Yankees series. Umpire Phil Cuzzi missed two calls on balls down the left field line. Probably the most egregious of his errors was a ball hit off the bat of Joe Mauer that Cuzzi called foul, but upon seeing the replay was clearly a fair ball.
Blown calls by umpires C.B. Buckner and Tim McLelland in the Angels-Yankees series was for me, the straw that broke the camel's back. Buckner called Yankee Nick Swisher safe at second after he stole the base, but once again replays displayed otherwise. They showed Angels' shortstop Erik Aybar clearly applying the tag before Swisher reached the base.
McLelland's call was the worst by far. Whether as a result of poor positioning, looking in the wrong place or by sheer stupidity, he made a call that the replay showed was way off. Yankees Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada were both trying to get to third base when Angels' catcher Mike Napoli was able to tag both men out before they reached the base.
Normally, when two players reach a base at the same time one is called out, but in this case neither man actually was on the base. McLelland must have just assumed that the men had both been on base.
Of course umpires miss calls all the time and are usually forgiven based on a line of thinking that states that mistakes are just a part of baseball. I'd like to know when a blown call or mistake made by an umpire became acceptable, especially in the age of instant replay.
The NFL was the trendsetter of instant replay when it first started using the technology in 1986. However, the current system that we see used today wasn't adopted until 1999 and the NFL has been adapting and improving the system ever since.
Blown calls have had a serious effect on the outcome of several playoff series this year.
The mistakes that have been made are glaring, and a clear example came during the Twins-Yankees series. Umpire Phil Cuzzi missed two calls on balls down the left field line. Probably the most egregious of his errors was a ball hit off the bat of Joe Mauer that Cuzzi called foul, but upon seeing the replay was clearly a fair ball.
Blown calls by umpires C.B. Buckner and Tim McLelland in the Angels-Yankees series was for me, the straw that broke the camel's back. Buckner called Yankee Nick Swisher safe at second after he stole the base, but once again replays displayed otherwise. They showed Angels' shortstop Erik Aybar clearly applying the tag before Swisher reached the base.
McLelland's call was the worst by far. Whether as a result of poor positioning, looking in the wrong place or by sheer stupidity, he made a call that the replay showed was way off. Yankees Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada were both trying to get to third base when Angels' catcher Mike Napoli was able to tag both men out before they reached the base.
Normally, when two players reach a base at the same time one is called out, but in this case neither man actually was on the base. McLelland must have just assumed that the men had both been on base.
Of course umpires miss calls all the time and are usually forgiven based on a line of thinking that states that mistakes are just a part of baseball. I'd like to know when a blown call or mistake made by an umpire became acceptable, especially in the age of instant replay.
The NFL was the trendsetter of instant replay when it first started using the technology in 1986. However, the current system that we see used today wasn't adopted until 1999 and the NFL has been adapting and improving the system ever since.
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