Why is there no use of instant replay for umps in the MLB? What justifications did the NFL have that MLB lacks

Question

For the record, I'd be against replay in the MLB. It's our pasttime, and to update it with in-game replays seems to be an anachronism.

Part of the game is reliance on an ump and his occasional mistakes. It makes it interesting.

Answer 1

I'm against it also, but not because baseball is "long enough already." It wouldn't just slow it down more, it totally ruin the flow of the game.

There are "stopages" of play all the time in the NFL (i.e. change of possesion, penalties, incomplete passes, t.v. timeouts, in between every single play...except for "hurry up" offense). There are only two "stopages" of play in baseball, changing from offense to defense and changing pitchers...unless you count Home Runs as stopages. And changing batters doesn't count because the runners can still take off whenever they want.

There is, for the most part, a continuous flow to a half inning of baseball and stopping the game for a replay would probably piss off pitchers more than anything. The only time I can see replay being worth while is to determine a HR or not and safe/out at home plate on close plays...plays that actually mean something...that's it.

Answer 2

The NFL doesn't care about tradition, but MLB does. That's why we have a constant increase in scoring in football and nobody complains, but when baseball players start scoring more runs (even though its at levels lower than that of the 20s and 30s and of most of the 19th century), people accuse the players of doing steroids.

I'm against replay in the NFL, especially when it isn't used properly (for example, when the refs overturned a down by contact and called it a fumble in the Baltimore-Indy playoff game, even though the replay rules say you can't do that; Oakland fans can probably provide far more examples of ref bias and I think Pittsburgh fans can talk about biased refs trying to cost them a playoff game with Indy during their Super Bowl run). The NFL replay system makes it easy to overturn a pass being caught because every pass isn't caught in slo-mo. It allows refs to control who wins the game. The NFL actually fines any coach that criticizes replay (who do they think they are? Hitler?).

I'm glad baseball has enough sense not to make that mistake. They're doing a great job of shortening the games and replay would reverse that and make games longer than they were a few years ago. Baseball doesn't make the right decision very often (Contraction, Strikes, and many other embarrassments in the last few decades), but they're doing a great job keeping out replay.

Answer 3

For starters Major League Baseball games are longer as it is than NFL games, and adding instant replay would slow that down, and unlike football not too often does a bad call absolutely destroy the game. If a game came down to a bad call and the team in which the call hurt lost, then that sucks, but its baseball, and they should have had a bigger lead, or should have been winning. Also the baseball season is longer, so 1 loss isn't going to destroy a record like in football where you have 16 or 17 games, and 1 shot in the playoffs.

Answer 4

It's a matter of choice for replay OR no replay. The NFL chooses to use it. I am glad they do because it insures most times that the right call is made. However, in baseball, it would be ridiculous!! Replay for what? Balls and strikes?? Foul balls?? Home run or not?? Hit by pitch?? As it is, baseball is a long, and sometimes tedious, game. Can you imagine what it would be like with instant replay?? The games would go on forever!! Football, yes; baseball, no.

Chow!!

Answer 5

Baseball game is more of appreciation than viewing replays. Despite of what the replays could show and that anyone can see if the call form the umpire was good or bad, this is all part of the emotion you feel in favor or against of what they are saying. So it's part of the game and tradition, and with the technology this days, umpires wouldn't have work at all, we wouldn't need them.

And, as baseball is played by humans, no one is perfect, so players would be umpired by machines, which would take a lot of interest in the game...

Answer 6

Considering the number of snap judgments that must be made in a game (in a typical game, the home plate umpire is calling about 300 pitches), the accuracy of major league umpires is extremely high.

Umpires undergo YEARS of training, and by the time they make the majors have made tens of thousands of calls. It is pretty rare to see them kick a call, even on bang-bang plays.

If they WERE to introduce replay, I'd only like to see it on calls where the umpires can't get into the best position --- for home run/foul ball/fan interference calls.

The infield is small enough for a four-man crew to get someone in position. No need for instant replay there.

Answer 7

there is way to many " judgment calls" in the game of baseball to make instant replay feasible.You could get 10 people to watch a video of a play and probably get 10 different aspects of the play or what should be the ruling.Instant replay would help on home-runs,fan interference,some fair-foul calls but strikes and balls safe or out needs the human element.

Answer 8

Even if it could help the accuracy of calls, I have a couple reasons:

1. The games are long enough already!

2. Sometimes the best part of the game is watching the players/coaches go crazy over a bad call! What fun would it be if we just watched the jumbotron and got it right?

Answer 9

I think you have a good point - look at the NFL as a model for instant replay. NO one has been able to perfect an instant replay Challenge system so lets just leave it to us poor flawed humans - ...

Answer 10

The MLB is just plain better than the NFL because baseball is a better sport than football is. =)