According to ESPN.com, Major League Baseball is playing around with the idea of experimenting with instant replay in the Arizona Fall League.
If that experiment proves practical and successful, MLB then is likely to continue the experiment next March during the World Baseball Classic and spring-training games.
If no insurmountable problems arise, baseball could begin using replay — though only to decide home run calls — as soon as next season.
What is yet to be determined is whether calls would be reviewed by a “replay umpire” in each stadium, as the National Football League does, or in the MLB offices in New York, a system that would more resemble the National Hockey League.
It’s a good idea. Part of the concern with replay is slowing down the game, but getting the call right should be first priority. It’s got to be difficult for umpires down the foul lines to see if a ball hit the top of the fence or the yellow home run line in centerfield. With the amount of technology at our disposal, it would be a shame not to use it. In the case of judging home run calls, I think it’s worth taking the “human element” out of the game.
