so what do we think about ***INSTANT REPLAY***???

is the fangraphs crowdsourcing tool not able to livepoll mlb extra innings subscribers? i've voted in a few NY1 pat kiernan polls via my remote control.

what happened to tennis when it went from line judge to lasers? was it a big deal?

reactions were mixed at first - the technology is only accurate to like, 3 millimeters, and a couple of guys (safin, federer) made a big deal out of that. it's been overwhelmingly successful though. it's an incredibly significant improvement especially when the line in question is opposite the chair umpire and s/he doesn't feel comfortable overruling the call. and it's not like the lines are called by robots only; players appeal a call with which they disagree. really the biggest controversies are (1) abusing the system to buy yourself extra time and (2) looking to your coach's box to ask if you should challenge a call. women are bigger offenders on both fronts

it takes like ten seconds too - added match time is negligible

yeah, why not test it out in spring training or interleague? or in japan?

(thanks kk btw)

not that Apple needs to spend any more on marketing this shit, but a pretty effective sneak promotion would be umpires whipping out iPads unannounced to quickly do an on the fly HR review this postseason instead of having to leave the field.

In looking at the replay, Buck Martinez says, “Kinsler might have been out.” Then, again, the broadcast continues without additional replays or discussion about a key scoring play.

The Common Man is left to wonder why TBS would ignore such an obvious storyline in its broadcast of Game 5. And The Common Man is also left to wonder what other camera angles were available to catch the action. These were two prominent scoring plays that would have loomed over the final result until the 9th inning, when Kinsler hit his two run homer. Indeed, going into the 9th inning, the score would have been 2-2, though it’s hard to imagine Joe Maddon managing any differently at that point. To have such a brief mention of the possibility that the calls were wrong, and no additional replay is incredibly strange.

To The Common Man, it suggests that perhaps TBS was asked not to make a big deal out of potentially missed calls. This would seem to jive with an earlier play in the San Francisco-Atlanta series, where Buster Posey was clearly out at 2B, but announcers refused to acknowledge it, in spite of the video evidence to the contrary (and Posey saying after the game "it's a good thing we don't have instant replay). If this is the case, it seems likely that the commissioner’s office has made conscious decision not just to ignore the loud cries for expanded instant replay, but to tacitly suppress them by denying these voices additional evidence with which to make their case....

http://www.platoonadvantage.com/2010/10/reluctant-conspiracy-theory.html

ya. not surprising.

@joe_sheehan
Is there anything more useless than outfield umpires? An appendix? Snooki?

Outfield umps in the playoffs are like triangle players who miss their one cue in the last minute of the symphony.

Baseball had hoped to increase video reviews this season to include trapped balls, fair-or-foul calls down the lines and fan interference all around the ballpark.

The additional replay required the approval of MLB and the unions representing the umpires and the players. MLB executive Rob Manfred told The Associated Press on Tuesday that all three sides weren't able to come up with an agreement.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/3/13/2868865/expanded-instant-replay-baseball-2012-cba

They're looking into having a central replay War Room next year.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/5/29/3051214/replay-review-mlb-central-location-2013

Works for me.

Things are coming along according to Sheehan's post upthread from four years ago.

I used to be more pessimistic about replay but I've come around a bit, I'm really for any form of replay (used in moderation) that doesn't delay the game too much.

I want the MLB Ump Cave next door to the Fan Cave.

re "in moderation" -- I don't want a system where managers can challenge 20 ball/strike calls per game.

xpost

i can't imagine it would cover balls and strikes

no, that's for the improved K Zone in 10-15 years.

BRING ON THE ROBOTS

@SBerthiaumeESPN
#Yankees Dewayne Wise dove into LF stands. Ball clanked off his glove & was picked up by fan 3 seats away. Called a catch by Mike Dimuro.

instant replay would only hamper the yankees; can't have it

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9570618/mlb-expands-instant-replay-2014-include-manager-video-challenges

...pending owner approval at the winter meetings.

Neyer has some thoughts

Here's what UNLIMITED VIDEO REVIEW might well mean: After every close play, everybody in the ballpark -- the umpires on the field, the players, the fans, the broadcasters -- would stop whatever they're doing, and look up toward the press box, where presumably this extra umpire will be stationed. Upon him and him alone, the fate of the world rests. That's a lot of pressure, plus you're asking an umpire to second-guess his colleagues many times per game. Which won't be any fun at all.

So it wouldn't be any fun, and it would slow the game down, and it would shift everyone's attention away from the field (where it should be) to the press box (where it shouldn't be).

Now, one could add a wrinkle. The umpire in the booth might not be the final arbiter. Instead, he might quickly flag questionable plays, so quickly that perhaps nobody would bother waiting for him. If it's not immediately questionable, play continues apace. If it's truly questionable -- I'm guessing this would happen three or four times per game -- the guy in the booth could halt play, and hand things off to the boys in New York with all their high-def monitors and super-slo-mo gizmos and whatnot.

But none of this is really easy, or simple. If it was, they would have done it already.

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/8/15/4624936/mlb-instant-replay-system-review-manager-challenges

rip managerial ejections

this is huge

In my opinion, it worked in ice hockey, fwiw.

under very limited circumstances, tho -- nashville couldn't protest matt duchene being a mile offside for instance

arizona fall league is testing instant replay challenges this week

tonight's game featured seven reviews and three reversals

To marry this change with enforcing the pitch time limit wd be cool.

Would managers challenge all walk-off plays?

people thought that would happen in tennis but it by and large hasn't, it's kind of an etiquette thing i guess

To marry this change with enforcing the pitch time limit wd be cool.

yeah, they're going to need to avoid adding 15 minutes onto game lengths. although i guess maybe televised games could do some of their precious commercials while the plays are under review.

no the public demands 8 angles in that time, even if the result is obvious.

commercials during reviews would just be additional -- it's not like they'd reduce between-innings ads

perfect!

well i shouldn't complain. more commercials are good for the game because it feeds into the trillions of tv $ that each team gets, which in turn enables every GM to occasionally go on a bender and wake up having signed a 8 year $200 million+ contract with 31 year old home run hitter

two manager's challenges per team per game. So, the human element will still blow some games!

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/11/14/5104382/mlb-baseball-instant-replay-video-review-new-rules-manager-challenges

Just making shit up.

@BNightengale
Instant replay challenge rules continue to change: Now its one challenge in 1st 7 IP and one extra if you win challenge; 1 after 7th #MLB

so on the BP podcast today they reported a rumor that 'the neighborhood play' will not be reviewable, and Sam Miller said that wd be crap, cuz it's bad to have rules that are actually never enforced in the rulebook.

approved!

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10305223/mlb-owners-ok-expanded-replay-2014

And baseball expects most reviews to be completed in "about a minute," he said, with occasional reviews taking up to a minute and a half.

Seems optimistic, but besides that, I'm really happy they finally did this.

What's the statute of limitations? I want them to credit the '92 Jays with that triple play, and there are two or three other postseason series they may have to play over.

btw teams can now show any replays on the videoboard.

also umpires will never leave the field! they get the word from MLB behind home plate.

Christmas in April-October

also, the NEIGHBORHOOD PLAY is not reviewable! so break them rules at second.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/major-league-baseball-unveils-state-of-the-art-replay-center

some interesting details in here that i didn't know about (not that i've been following it that closely). it's good that they'll apparently begin to review plays before a team makes an official appeal - that should cut down on the time it takes. also,

The replay official has three possible calls. Confirmed: If replay shows clear evidence that the umps got it right. Stands: The replay was too close to tell one way or the other. Overturned: If there is inarguable evidence that a mistake was made.

While this is going on, teams will now be allowed to show close plays on their video boards. If calls are confirmed or overturned, the technician will then forward the decisive angle to the stadium so that it can be shown on the scoreboard as well as on the television broadcasts. To further add transparency and fan-friendliness, a written explanation of the decision will be posted on MLB.com.

Good review of some of the possible complications and loopholes:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/45345/instant-replay-what-can-go-wrong

The bigger potential issue will be stalling by managers. This wasn't a big deal in spring training because nothing was on the line, but I suspect we'll see some strange shenanigans once the real games begin. When issuing a challenge, a manager is supposed to leave the dugout and issue his challenge to the umpire (there will be no flag tossing as in the NFL). But there appears to be a gray area here.

If a manager goes out to argue a call, how long before the umpire demands to know whether he's issuing a challenge? Teams will be allowed to monitor replays from the clubhouse and have some sort of relay system to alert the manager on whether to challenge, so I suspect we may see a lot of arguments in which the manager keeps looking back into dugout for the bench coach to scratch his armpit.

Fredi Gonzalez has gone out to argue/stall 3 times tonight and gone back in without any challenges.

I guess we'll see "clarifications" on that part of the rule soon where they limit the number of times a manger can leave the dugout, but they could just have the on-deck batter stall and go back to the dugout three times to switch bats or tuck in his shirt.

I thought a manager had 30sec to issue a challenge?

what is the etc? it's not complicated. stay on the bag!

the times when the runner's forward motion causes their hand to slide off the bag for 1/20th of a second. in general I hate the idea of using replay to overturn plays that never would've been called that way in real time.

hawkeye is almost instantaneous iirc

anyway i would like to point out that i was otm four hours ago

btw fuck the spirit of the game, that sounds like George Will

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31240968/braves-rip-embarrassing-call-home-plate-keyed-phillies-win

definitely looks like they fucked this one up

MLB replay system would be a hell of a lot more accurate if the crew in New York didn’t know what the call on the field was.

— Lane Adams (@LA_Swiftness) April 12, 2021