Baseball to start using instant replay Thursday
Umpires will use replay to check calls on homeruns and fair or foul balls
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 9:55 AM PDT
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| Ross D. Franklin | Associated Press
In this July 23, 2008 file photo, umpires from left to right, Jeff Kellogg, Sam Holbrook, Mark Wegner, and Chad Fairchild, who raises his arm to signal a home run, confer as Arizona Diamondbacks’ Stephen Drew (top) looks on as the umpires meet to see if there was fan interference on the grand slam hit by Chicago Cubs’ Reed Johnson in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Phoenix. Major League Baseball reversed its long-standing opposition to instant replay and will allow umpires to check video on home run calls in series that start Thursday, a person familiar with the announcement told The Associated Press. |
NEW YORK (AP) — Umpires will be getting a third choice on potential home runs down the line: fair, foul or replay.
Umpires will be allowed to check video on home run calls starting Thursday after Major League Baseball, guardian of America’s most traditional sport, reversed its decades-long opposition to instant replay.
‘‘Every team can go home and sleep better at night if they know the call was right,’’ Oakland designated hitter Frank Thomas said.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who described himself as ‘‘old fashioned’’ when he made the announcement Tuesday, softened his opposition following a rash of blown calls this year.
For now, video will be used only on so-called ‘‘boundary calls,’’ such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence, whether potential home runs were fair or foul and whether there was fan interference on potential home runs.
‘‘Any time you try to change something in baseball, it’s both emotional and difficult,’’ Selig said. ‘‘There’s been some concern that, well, if you start here, look what it’s going to lead to. Not as long as I’m the commissioner.’’
Replay will go into use with three series scheduled to open Thursday: Philadelphia at the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota at Oakland and Texas at the Los Angeles Angels. For other games, replays will be available to umpires starting Friday.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella wondered whether a team could challenge a call.
‘‘I’d love to be able to throw a red hankie or a green hankie. Imagine being able to throw something on the field and not be ejected,’’ he said. ‘‘I shouldn’t say it’s not going to work, but this could turn into a little bit of a fiasco initially.’’
The NFL first used replay to aid officials in 1986, the NHL in 1991 and the NBA in 2002. Even at stuffy old Wimbledon, technology has been used on line calls since 2006. Replay equipment to help determine calls was in place at this year’s Little League World Series.
Fan interference has been a big issue in baseball, with almost constant debate since Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and gave Derek Jeter a home run during the 1996 AL championship series. Many blown calls have occurred at newer ballparks, where fans are closer to the field and have the ability to reach over fences.
