Instant replay in Major League Baseball

Umpires in St.Louis await the ruling.

Major League Baseball (MLB) allows the use of instant replay review to allow league officials to review certain types of plays in order to determine the accuracy of the initial call of the umpires on the field. Reviews may be initiated either by a team's manager with limitations or by the umpires themselves. All instant replay reviews are examined by an umpire at the Replay Command Center in New York City, who has the final decision as to whether to uphold or overturn the initial call.

MLB was the last of the four major North American professional sports leagues to implement an instant replay review system. Instant replay review was first implemented during the 2008 season. Under that system, only the umpire crew chief could initiate a review, and one or more members of the umpiring crew would review the video at the stadium and render the decision to uphold or overturn the call. Only boundary home run calls could be reviewed, either if the initial call was a home run but might not have been (e.g., spectator interference or a foul ball near the foul pole) or if the initial call was not a home run but might have been (e.g., the ball hit an object such as a railing beyond the outfield wall and then bounced back onto the field).[1][2]

The current instant replay system was implemented in the 2014 season. Under the current system each manager is allotted one challenge per game, with additional challenges granted only if the previous one was successful. From the seventh inning on, the umpire crew chief is allowed to initiate his own replay review. The umpire crew chief is also allowed to initiate a review during any inning if the play in question is a boundary home run call.

Procedure

The following plays may be subjected to instant replay review:

To initiate a managers's challenge, a manager must enter the field of play and verbally tell the umpire he will use his challenge. Teams are allowed to have a replay assistant in the booth watch the replay and talk with a coach via the dugout telephone to decide if the team should challenge the call. A player or coach in the dugout will signal to the manager whether or not to use the challenge.

When a play is reviewed, at least two umpires (including the crew chief) will go to an area behind home plate where they will meet a technician. The technician hands the umpires headsets where they can communicate with the umpires at the Replay Command Center in New York City. During the review, the replay may be displayed on the stadium video screen. Once the call is determined, the field technician will leave and the crew chief will signal the final call. If a manager enters the field of play to argue a reviewed call, he will be automatically ejected from the game.[3]

Background

Instant replay in MLB actually had been used once before in the 1999 season during a Florida Marlins home game at Pro Player Stadium. This was the first instance in which instant replay was utilized in Major League Baseball.[4] While playing the St. Louis Cardinals, Cliff Floyd hit a ball off of the top of the left field scoreboard. Originally ruled a double, then ruled a home run, NL Umpire Frank Pulli reverted the call back to a double, after consulting a TV monitor in the Marlins dugout. The Cardinals won the game, 5-2, and the Marlins protested the use of the TV monitor. The National League Office declared the umpires erred in using instant replay, and the American League Office concurred that instant replay was not to be used in the future. However, the Marlins protest was denied on the grounds that it was a judgment call rather than a rules violation as such, and the play stood.[5] MLB did not use instant replay again for almost a decade.[6]

Although not an exact "instant" replay, a controversial play in the 1969 World Series involving a J. C. Martin bunt attempt led Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to study the videotape the next day, to assure himself and to announce that a reasonable call had been made by the umpires.

Major League Baseball instant replay was instituted on August 28, 2008 by commissioner Bud Selig. "I believe that the extraordinary technology that we now have merits the use of instant replay on a very limited basis", Commissioner Selig said. "The system we have in place will ensure that the proper call is made on home run balls and will not cause a significant delay to the game."[7]

Although MLB was the last of the four major United States professional sports leagues to implement an instant replay review system, replay was used 123 times between August 28, 2008 and the conclusion of the 2010 season (with 48 of those instances resulting in overturned calls).[8]

2008

Replay made its official, sanctioned MLB debut at Tropicana Field on September 3, 2008 after Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit a ball near the left-field foul pole that was initially ruled a home run by third base umpire Brian Runge. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon and catcher Dioner Navarro argued that the ball was foul and asked for a review. After a conversation among the umpires, crew chief Charlie Reliford allowed the replay, which was sent by MLB.com logger Dominic Sims, to take place and after review, upheld the home run call.[9]

The first instance of an umpire's call being overturned by instant replay also occurred at Tropicana Field. On September 19, 2008, in the bottom of the 4th inning with two men on, Carlos Peña of the Rays hit the ball just over the fence in right field. The umpires originally ruled that there was spectator interference, but after several minutes of viewing replays, the umpires returned to the field and signaled it a home run, extending the Rays' lead to 9-0 at that point.[10]

Aside from the two aforementioned reviews at Tampa Bay, review was used five additional times during the 2008 regular season: twice at Houston, and once each at Seattle, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

2009

World Baseball Classic

On March 16, 2009, during the 2009 World Baseball Classic, instant replay was requested for the first time in the tournament's history at Dolphin Stadium to give Venezuela a home run against Puerto Rico. Crew chief Ed Rapuano stated in a postgame press conference that there was never any replay, because the "war room" in New York City was unable to send him a replay of the play in question due to technical difficulties. The umpires, two from the United States and two from Japan, then worked with a translator to make a final ruling. Three of the four umpires said they believed it was a home run, and when third-base umpire Hitoshi Watarida was asked by Rapuano if he was "110 percent sure" that it was a home run, Watarida said yes. Nearly 10 minutes after first entering the dugout, the umpires returned to the field and awarded the Venezuelan team with a home run.[11]

Instant replay instead made its WBC debut during the 2013 World Baseball Classic as umpires upheld a home run call during a Mexico vs. USA game.[12]

MLB Season and Post-Season

On June 19, 2009, instant replay was used twice in a game for the first time, during a Detroit Tigers vs. Milwaukee Brewers game.

On October 31, 2009, instant replay was used for the first time in a World Series, when in the fourth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, Alex Rodriguez hit a ball that bounced off the camera in right field. Initially called as a double, the umpires reviewed the play, and determined that had the camera not been in its location, the ball probably would have left the park, and a home run was awarded to Rodriguez, making the score 3-2.[13]

2011

On June 1, 2011, Billy Butler of the Kansas City Royals hit a fly ball to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning of a scoreless game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The ball hit off the fence over the left-field wall and skipped back onto the field. It was ruled a double and Jeff Francoeur held at third. Manager Ned Yost argued that it was a home run. The umpires reviewed it and saw that the ball hit off the back part of the fence and went back onto the field (Kauffman Stadium's configuration allows for this play to be officiated as a home run). After review, the umpires accordingly ruled home run, granting the Royals a 2-0 victory. This was the second walk-off home run reviewed by instant replay in MLB history.

On June 29, 2011, Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees hit a fly ball to right field. The ball bounced off the wall and a fan reached over to grab it. Originally ruled a base hit, instant replay showed that the fan touched the ball as it bounced back onto the field. After the review, the umpires called it a home run.

On August 17, 2011, Billy Butler hit a fly ball to left field. It hit off the railing in left. Brett Gardner grabbed the ball when it came back in and threw it into the infield. The umpires called it a home run. Joe Girardi came out to argue. The umpires looked at the review. The replays showed that the ball hit off the wall in left, exited the field and returned; the call stood, giving Butler his 15th home run of the season.[14]

On August 18, 2011, Justin Morneau hit a deep fly ball to right field that appeared to go just to the right side of the foul pole for a foul ball. However, the umpires immediately called it a home run. For the second straight night, Joe Girardi came out to argue the call and ask for a review. The umpires reviewed and ruled that the ball did indeed go past the right side of the foul pole, thus calling it a foul ball. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire came out to argue the call and was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Brian O'Nora for arguing a decision to change a call after looking at instant replay, which pursuant to MLB rule, shall result in an automatic ejection.[15]

On September 4, 2011, Hunter Pence of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a fly ball to deep right field. Originally ruled a live ball, instant replay showed Marlins right fielder Bryan Petersen was interfered with by multiple fans during his opportunity to catch a ball, under Rule 2.00 INTERFERENCE (d)(1) and (2). After instant replay review, first base umpire and crew chief Joe West ruled Pence out under the provisions of spectator interference, Rule 3.16, and sent Phillies baserunner Ryan Howard back to first base. For the second time in less than a month, a manager was ejected arguing the instant replay decision: Charlie Manuel was ejected and elected to play the game under protest. On September 7, 2011, MLB VP of Baseball Operations Joe Torre denied the first ever protest associated with authorized instant replay usage.[16]

During the 2011 American League Division Series, Robinson Canó of the New York Yankees hit a fly ball to left field. It bounced off the wall and back into play. Cano argued that the ball went over the wall. Instant replay showed that the ball bounced off the wall and narrowly missed a fan, bouncing back into play. Therefore, the call stood.

2013

On May 8, 2013, Adam Rosales of the Oakland Athletics hit a game tying home run, but was initially ruled a double, as the ball hit a railing behind the wall in left field and bounced back on the field. Despite video replays clearly indicating a home run, umpire Ángel Hernández upheld the original ruling. Oakland manager Bob Melvin was ejected for arguing and the Cleveland Indians held on to win 4-3.[17]

Changes for 2014

Instant replay was not expanded in 2012, and Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre confirmed that instant replay would again not be expanded in time for Opening Day 2013, putting off plans for another season.[18] On August 15, 2013, Major League Baseball announced that it would expand its video review process for the 2014 season, granting managers one challenge over the first six innings of games and two from the seventh inning until the end of the game. Calls that are challenged would be reviewed by a crew in MLB headquarters in New York City, who make the final ruling.[19]

As part of the 2014 collective bargaining agreement between MLB's owners and players union (MLBPA), and approval by the umpires union (WUA), two additional elements were added to the replay rules. Instant replay was expanded to include fair and foul calls and balls that are caught or trapped by the player catching the ball. It also expanded interference reviews beyond the home run boundary to all walls.

2013 Arizona Fall League Testing

Following the conclusion of the 2013 World Series, MLB announced it would test expanded instant replay as proposed for 2014 for a week's slate of games in the Arizona Fall League.[20] During the second inning of the Tuesday, November 5 Solar Sox-Rafters game played at Talking Stick, first base umpire Sean Barber ruled batter CJ Cron out at first base on a close play. Manager Bill Richardson approached plate umpire Hal Gibson to challenge the play, initiating the first video review conducted by off-field umpires and relayed via headset to the plate umpire; Barber's out call was upheld after the review. In total, four plays were reviewed during the debut game, with instant replay affirming the umpire's on-field call all four times.[21]

The first overturned call occurred during November 6's Rafters-Scorpions game when umpires used replay to reverse an out call on a stolen base attempt. The game also featured a rare multi-replay challenge, as video review upheld two umpiring calls in one play — batter Kyle Kubitza's touch of second base as well as his slide into third base ahead of a tag.[22]

In total, fifteen calls were challenged with three overturned upon instant replay review, resulting in a 20% overturn rate.[23]

Expanded replay approved for 2014

To accommodate the anticipated expansion of instant replay, MLB promoted seven minor league umpires to the full-time major league staff on January 14, 2014.[24] Two days later, on January 16, MLB officially announced the approval of expanded instant replay for use during the 2014 season, whose terms were modified after negotiations with the MLBPA and WUA.[25] According to its terms, managers will be allotted one challenge per game (two if the first challenge results in an overturned call) while the umpiring crew chief will be empowered to initiate a review in innings 7 and later. The umpires will also be allowed to review a home run call at any time. Once a call is challenged an umpire requests a video review, fellow umpires in New York's Replay Operations Center will watch video of the play in question using the "indisputable video evidence" standard when deciding whether to overturn a call. The following plays will be reviewable under the system:

Judgment calls not specified above, including, but not limited to, pitches called ball or strike, obstruction, interference, the infield fly rule, and checked swings are not reviewable.

On March 31, 2014, the first instant replay challenge logged was sent by former MLB.com logger Drew "Cashmere" Schaefer with the MLB Replay Tech in NYC being Timothy Akins[26] as Chicago Cubs manager Rick Renteria challenged a potential double play in the top of fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, disputing the call on the field that pitcher Jeff Samardzija was out at first. The umpires confirmed the call on the field, and the Cubs lost the challenge. From announcement of the challenge to confirmation of the call, the process took 1 minute and 40 seconds, longer than MLB's hope for 60 to 90 seconds per review. Later that day, the first successful challenge took place when Atlanta Braves manager Fredi González challenged the call of a Ryan Braun single. It was overturned to an out in a review that took 58 seconds, although the Braves lost the game to the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0; coincidentally, former Brewers owner and MLB commissioner Bud Selig was in attendance for the first successful challenge. Moments later, the aforementioned Cubs–Pirates game had the second overturned call (and the first in extra innings) when Emilio Bonifacio was called safe on a pickoff attempt by Bryan Morris. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle successfully challenged the call, and was said to influence the outcome of the game, a 1-0 Pirates victory.[27] Finally, the first umpire-initiated review took place in a game between the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians when umpire Mike Winters wanted to confirm that Oakland catcher John Jaso did not unnecessarily block the plate as Michael Brantley attempted to score.[28]

As of the 2014 All-Star Break, instant replay was generally well received by managers, players, and umpires. Managers challenged 606 calls, or an average of one every 2.35 games, of which 52% were overturned. Including situations where umpires request the Replay Operations Center to review a call, 47.7% of calls are overturned. However, MLB informally allows up to 30 seconds to have the team's video coordinator signal a call to the manager. When situations where the manager comes out on the field to await a decision from a team video coordinator are included, MLB estimates the percentage of calls overturned decreases to 21%. The average replay review takes one minute and fifty seconds, which is higher than MLB's original goal of 90 seconds per review.[29]

One side effect has been the addition of 12 new umpires, the most since 1999, to MLB staff, due to the need to staff the Replay Operations Center with two crews. However, statistics show that umpiring quality has remained constant despite the additions, with four out of the top seven umpires with reversals those who have umpired more than 1,600 games.[29]

Changes for 2015

The following changes were made in 2015:[30]

References

  1. ↑ "Major League Baseball approves expanded instant replay, managers can challenge up to two calls a game". Daily News. New York.
  2. ↑ "MLB clubs unanimously approve expansion of instant replay". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/all-systems-go-with-expanded-instant-replay-for-major-league-baseball?ymd=20140327&content_id=70050812&vkey=news_mlb
  4. ↑ "Marlins object to umps watching TV". CNN. June 1, 1999.
  5. ↑ "Marlins' 'Replay' Protest Denied". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 1999.
  6. ↑ "NL president: Umpire erred in consulting replay". CNN. June 2, 1999.
  7. ↑ Curry, Jack (August 27, 2008). "Baseball to Use Replay Review on Homers". New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Instant Replay at a Glance". October 20, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Instant replay goes off without a hitch". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rays' Pena shines, receives MLB's first replay reversal in rout of Twins". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ "World Baseball Classic: Umpires don't use replay in Classic". World Baseball Classic. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Instant Replay Debuts at World Baseball Classic", Close Call Sports, March 8, 2013
  13. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-worldseries-videoreview&prov=ap&type=lgns
  14. ↑ "Discussions: Replaying a Home Run". Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Ejections: Brian O'Nora (1)". Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Ejections: Joe West (7)". Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  17. ↑ Ortiz, Jorge L. (May 8, 2013). "Blown HR call after replay review leaves A's furious". USA Today.
  18. ↑ "Expanded Replay Not on Par for Opening Day 2013", Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League, February 19, 2013
  19. ↑ "MLB to expand instant replay in 2014". ESPN.com. August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Instant replay testing to be conducted at Arizona Fall League." MLB (Press release). November 1, 2013.
  21. ↑ "AFL Instant Replay Update: Umpires Perfect in Game 1." Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  22. ↑ "AFL Instant Replay Update: Video Reverses Call in Game 2." Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  23. ↑ "AFL Instant Replay: 20% of Challenged Calls Overturned." Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  24. ↑ Imber, Gil. "Confirmed: MLB Hires 7 New Umpires to Full-Time Staff." Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  25. ↑ "MLB clubs unanimously approve expansion of instant replay." Major League Baseball (Press Release). Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  26. ↑ "MLB on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Major League Baseball launches expanded replay era". Yahoo Sports. April 1, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  28. ↑ "A's lose major league-record 10th straight Opening Day game". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  29. 1 2 Paul White, USA TODAY Sports (July 20, 2014). "What are the early returns on MLB instant replay?". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Press Releases". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
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