November 06, 2007
Replay on the Way?
The general managers voted 25-5 to use instant replays to decide boundary calls:
The recommendation, by a 25-5 vote, was limited to boundary calls - whether potential home runs are fair or foul, whether balls go over fences or hit the top and bounce back, and whether fans have interfered with a possible homer.
That seems to be a reasonable recommendation. Fans of the 1996 Orioles would approve, I'm sure.
Posted by David Pinto at
04:04 PM
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Umpires
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Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like every time I've seen a questionable HR call in recent years, some kind of weird outfield wall is the cause. A painted line halfway up a wall, or a second edge on top of a wall behind the HR line, or other odd designs that inevitably produce a controversy. This happened at least once during the playoffs, when Manny hit his single off the top of the wall in Cleveland.
I'm fine with instant replay on home-run calls, but why doesn't MLB enforce some kind of design standard on the outfield walls to prevent HR kerfuffles? I'd think the umpires' union would be all over this; too often, the umps look like fools because of a flukey bounce off a misleading surface.
Now, I'm not calling for uniformity. There's plenty of room for unique ballpark design. Just do something normal with the tops of the outfield walls!
