MLB Umpires To Begin Announcing Replay Decisions

glennhoffmania

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So make the safe or out sign isn't sufficient? How does this improve the process?
 

bsj

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I guess they are going to elaborate as to the "why"?

There are so many things about replay in all sports that bug me. This has never been one.
 

moondog80

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This will be awesome if they do with Howard Finkel-like delivery.
 

DJnVa

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Yeah, this is pretty much a nothingburger. "Upon review we see that the runner did in fact touch first base before the first baseman caught the ball. Runner is safe." 99% of calls don't really require much beyond that. I guess once in a while there's some important call--did fan interfere or some such, but generally speaking we can figure it out.


No. This is not an April fools joke. And it’s about Damn time.
Can you share as to why you think this is a big deal?
 

Van Everyman

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Scal was just saying on a Celtics broadcast last week that he predicted the ref would spend forever explaining the call in 3 sentences when just announcing possession would do.

This will slow things down further.
 

Max Power

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Yeah, this is pretty much a nothingburger. "Upon review we see that the runner did in fact touch first base before the first baseman caught the ball. Runner is safe." 99% of calls don't really require much beyond that. I guess once in a while there's some important call--did fan interfere or some such, but generally speaking we can figure it out.




Can you share as to why you think this is a big deal?
It's a bigger deal for fans at the park. There's no announcement for what's being challenged and then no explanation of what the call was. This will help.
 

joe dokes

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It's a bigger deal for fans at the park. There's no announcement for what's being challenged and then no explanation of what the call was. This will help.
It will help occasionally. It wont be used only occasionally.
 

BringBackMo

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Three sentences! That’s at least 10 seconds, plus 10 seconds to get to the mic. And that’s, what, twice a game? Pace of play is already a big problem for baseball. Those extra 40 seconds a game will really, uh, add up over the course of the season.
 

glennhoffmania

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It's a bigger deal for fans at the park. There's no announcement for what's being challenged and then no explanation of what the call was. This will help.
I'd say that 99% of the time the fans know. A guy is called out at 1st, there's a challenge, it's pretty obvious the team is saying he was safe, the ump takes the headphones off and makes the safe or out sign, we move on.
Three sentences! That’s at least 10 seconds, plus 10 seconds to get to the mic. And that’s, what, twice a game? Pace of play is already a big problem for baseball. Those extra 40 seconds a game will really, uh, add up over the course of the season.
I don't think wasting time is the key issue. It's the general stupidity of coming up with a solution when there's no problem.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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"The runner did beat the throw to first base. Upon review, it was determined that while the runner veered slightly into fair territory upon crossing the bag, it was not consistent with making an attempt towards second base, which requires both feet down in fair territory and a distinct baseball move...."
 

Max Power

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I'd say that 99% of the time the fans know. A guy is called out at 1st, there's a challenge, it's pretty obvious the team is saying he was safe, the ump takes the headphones off and makes the safe or out sign, we move on.

I don't think wasting time is the key issue. It's the general stupidity of coming up with a solution when there's no problem.
Jerry Remy must have mentioned about once a week how he'd like the umpires to tell everyone what they're looking at. Not everyone thinks there's no problem.

This won't take any time, either. While the umps are sitting with the headsets on and their thumbs up their asses, one of them can announce who called for the challenge of what. When the call comes in, they just say whether the call was upheld, overturned, or the evidence was inconclusive. It may add 5 seconds to the process.
 

DJnVa

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Jerry Remy must have mentioned about once a week how he'd like the umpires to tell everyone what they're looking at. Not everyone thinks there's no problem.

This won't take any time, either. While the umps are sitting with the headsets on and their thumbs up their asses, one of them can announce who called for the challenge of what. When the call comes in, they just say whether the call was upheld, overturned, or the evidence was inconclusive. It may add 5 seconds to the process.
I don't think anyone is really complaining about any added time. That said, in all the baseball talk here, has there really been much talk about MLB needing to fix this?

To me it's just a big "meh, okay."
 

scottyno

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This should have been a thing years ago, there's really no reason for the umps not to briefly explain why upon review they made the decision they did
 

Over Guapo Grande

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This should have been a thing years ago, there's really no reason for the umps not to briefly explain why upon review they made the decision they did
I was going to mention that before Ed Hochuli interrupted my train of thought. I remember a few games, including post-season ones, where the announcers were saying "I don't know what they could possibly be looking at here", leading to minutes of replays and random speculation -- "are they saying that his foot may have come off the bag too soon?" ... where no one was really sure what they should be looking at.
 
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scottyno

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I was going to mention that before Ed Hoculii interrupted my train of thought. I remember a few games, including post-season ones, where the announcers were saying "I don't know what they could possibly be looking at here", leading to minutes of replays and random speculation -- "are they saying that his foot may have come off the bag too soon?" ... where no one was really sure what they should be looking at.
Yeah, or the times when the announcers seem convinced of a decision, and then it goes the other way and no one knows why, because the umps noticed something that no one else did. It'll take at most an extra minute and it'll make things easier to understand, I don't see any downside.
 

glennhoffmania

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I don't think anyone is really complaining about any added time. That said, in all the baseball talk here, has there really been much talk about MLB needing to fix this?

To me it's just a big "meh, okay."
Yeah this was my point. I have no issue with the speed of games. I couldn't care less about pitch clocks or minimizing pitching changes. So my comment about this had nothing to do with wasting time. This simply wasn't a problem that needed fixing. They should focus on actual issues like calling pitches 4 inches off of the plate strikes.
 

grimshaw

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I am eagerly awaiting the Ed Hochuli of baseball who over-explains everything.
Hereafter known as "Guest referee Ed Hochuli" a la Mick Foley.

I really don't think this contributes much to the tv viewer, but it at least provides something for the fans in attendance.

Replay has never really bothered me all that much. I'd implement it for the playoffs only or for fair/foul balls and questionable home runs. I only miss the rare Lou Piniella nutties attached with no replays. No one tunes out during a heated argument.
 

BaseballJones

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The umps just need to be quick about it.

"Upon further review, the runner's foot came off the bag while the tag was still being applied; therefore the runner is out."

That's it. There need not be anything more than this.
 

lexrageorge

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The umps just need to be quick about it.

"Upon further review, the runner's foot came off the bag while the tag was still being applied; therefore the runner is out."

That's it. There need not be anything more than this.
I've always felt if the umps cannot make a decision within 2 minutes, the call on the field/court/ice stands. And, yes, the simplest explanation is always the best one.
 

soxhop411

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I wonder how long it will take for an Ump to accidentally leave their mic on while a manager is going on a tirade while swearing like a sailor
 

Bertha

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The biggest difference for replay among the 3 major sports leagues is that NFL and NBA have the local officials actually viewing the play in question. However, MLB umps are completely at the mercy of headset-only status, just to potentially be told they screwed up.
by the bored looks on their faces, I doubt they receive a running commentary during a review, rather a simple safe or out at the end. It will be hilarious for a complex situation to involve the ump either not getting the full picture, or needing to take notes prior to making their announcement.
 

Van Everyman

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I wonder how long it will take for an Ump to accidentally leave their mic on while a manager is going on a tirade while swearing like a sailor
I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a manager argue a call window replay was implemented.