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 Should tradition get in the way of “Getting it right”?

by Gary Armida

Tradition.Baseball is a game built on honoring its past greatness. Fans know what numbers 61, 56, and 755 all mean. It is what makes the game great. While other sports have changed major rules and scoring options, baseball is essentially the same game that it was 100 years ago (well, with the addition of 500 foot homeruns). Whenever a change is brought up, the so-called baseball purists scream from the mountain tops-IT WILL RUIN TRADITION! Well, today is quite possibly a traditionalist’s worst nightmare. The general managers of baseball voted 25-5 to approve the use of instant replay on controversial homerun calls (this still needs Bud Selig’s approval).

“The games are long enough!” “We love the human element!”  “That’s how it has always been!”

Yup, those are the “arguments” of the traditional baseball purist. They make a lot of sense, right? I guess with that attitude batters should still be going up to the plate without helmets or catchers going behind the plate without any gear. Wouldn’t want to get in the way of tradition now, do we? Progress in these areas saved lives despite ruining a grand tradition.

Innovations such as the designated hitter, inter-league play, the wildcard, and the even the all-star game counting towards home field advantage are all changes that spit in the face of tradition. Yet, while still debated, each change has added intrigue to the game. Changes that were once scoffed at are now universally accepted in baseball. The sport of baseball is better because of these changes. Some of today’s biggest stars are designated hitters, inter-league play is for many teams their biggest draw, and the wildcard round has added some of the most exciting moments of the post season. The all-star game…well, ok, the all-star game thing is pretty lame.

Instant replay would ensure that the homerun is called properly. Don’t we want the game to be decided by the players and not one of the million conferences by the men in blue with their arms folded and clueless looks? In what area of life, is sometimes making a mistake acceptable? Think about all of the close calls over the years or even just in the past playoff series; Grady Sizemore’s shot at Fenway ring a bell? Or look back to 1996 with Derek Jeter’s infamous homerun against the Orioles. Instant replay could have given the Orioles a trip to the World Series. Why stop there? Replay can be used at close calls at the plate. A certain player from this postseason, who shall remain nameless, still hasn’t touched the plate.

Let’s face it, baseball is a big business. It has enough problems dealing with steroids scandals. It cannot afford to have its game tainted by bad calls. With the constant media attention, mistakes are magnified, dissected on talk radio, played over and over on ESPN. It is not like it was in the 1960’s or even the 1980’s (Couldn’t the Cardinals use a few replays from the 1985 series?).  Mistakes were discussed and then largely discarded. There was no sports radio or 24 hour sports network covering this. Games are often isolated to the newspapers where fans could only read about it. The debates, so I am told, would last a few days, but were soon forgotten. Today’s age doesn’t allow for such things. Today, the fans get 100 replays from 10,000 angles. Does it make sense that the umpires can’t get that second look? No it does not. Getting the call right is needed. The National Football League has used replay quite successfully. Games, for the most part, are not decided by the zebras. If a player doesn’t get his feet in bounds, the replay shows that. Baseball would benefit.

While the purists have a point about games being long, the technology is there so that a call could be made within 20 seconds. All that would be needed is an official sitting in a booth. Once the homerun occurs, he should already be reviewing in case of a challenge. Within 20 seconds, the usual duration of a hitter’s walk-up music, the call can be confirmed or changed. 20 seconds is a small price to pay for the proper call. Umpires will still have plenty of influence on the game with the various strike zones, close calls, and bang-bang plays on the base-paths (although the latter two could be reviewable as well).

So, Commissioner Selig, make the right choice. Choose to have the game’s integrity be the most important thing. Choose to have a game decided by a player’s performance and not the judgment of a human being who quite often did not see the whole play. Progressing with the times is what will keep baseball at the forefront. Falling behind and allowing humans to make an increasing amount of mistakes will ruin what little faith is left in this great game. Instant replay is not hurting the integrity of the sport nor is it ruining the backbone (tradition) of the game. It will give fans a great sense of confidence that the game’s outcome was honest and fair.