Upon Further Review, MLB Instant Replay Expansion Gets Green Light

The proposed expansion of Major League Baseball’s instant replay procedure received unanimous approval Thursday, as all 30 MLB franchises tipped a cap to the sweeping changes in the review procedure.

The announcement came at the conclusion of MLB’s quarterly owners’ meeting. The new protocol decrees that managers will receive at least one challenge per game to initiate instant replay; if any part of the challenged play is overturned, they will be able to ask for one more instant replay, with a maximum of two per game. After a manager has exhausted his challenges, the umpire crew chief has discretion to initiate instant replay on his own.

“This is really big,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said after making the announcement, via MLB.com. “I’m proud of the changes we’ve made and I’ll tell you why I’m proud of them: because they won’t disturb the game as we know it.”

As part of the instant replay expansion, all plays must be allowed to be shown on a team’s scoreboard, regardless of whether subject to instant replay or not. MLB executive Tony LaRussa estimates that 90 percent of potential calls will now be reviewable, ESPN reports.

The announcement comes after approval from both the Major League Baseball Players Association and with the Major League Umpires Association, the former not being finalized until Wednesday evening. One aspect of the expansion allows teams to staff a “video specialist” in the clubhouse in order to look for potential challenges. This staffer would be able to communicate with the manager the dugout via phone; monitors and other video equipment is prohibited from being in the dugout.

Under MLB’s expanded instant replay protocols, the following types of play are subject to review:

• Home run
• Ground-rule double
• Fan interference
• Stadium boundary calls (e.g., fielder into stands, ball into stands triggering dead ball)
• Force play (except the fielder’s touching of second base on a double play)
• Tag play (including steals and pickoffs)
• Fair/foul in outfield only
• Trap play in outfield only
• Batter hit by pitch
• Timing play (whether a runner scores before a third out)
• Touching a base (requires appeal)
• Passing runners
• Record keeping (Ball-strike count to a batter, outs, score, and substitutions)

What do you think of the new instant replay procedure? Will this improve the experience of watching a ballgame or take away from the tradition? How do you feel about instant replay in sports as a whole?

(Photo retrieved from Flickr)