If it ain’t broke, don’t film it
Is nothing sacred in this world anymore? First, Battlestar Galactica gets canceled, then my mom adds cinnamon to her chocolate chip cookies and now people are actually debating whether or not to put instant replay in baseball. Has there ever been anything so preposterous?
You see, instant replay belongs in baseball just about as much as Mick Jagger needs to lose weight. There is no need or room or place for it, and we would only recoil in horror if we ever saw it. Baseball has survived — no, thrived — for nearly 150 years without the nightmare of instant replay. Why start now? Sure, some may say that bad calls should be eliminated, but where they see bad calls I see a little thing called “fate.”
Let’s look at this year’s playoffs — discounting the joke of a World Series — as an example. The highlight of this postseason was, without a doubt, the inspiring saga of the Colorado Rockies. Fans throughout the region, normally depressed because of the fact that John Elway still isn’t coming back, were uplifted by Rocktober all because of their “little team that could.” Would you really want to deprive these frost-bitten fans by pointing out that yeah, maybe Matt Holliday didn’t quite touch home plate in the play-in game against the Padres, thus depriving that franchise of the greatest moment of its history? Really?
But let’s say that Bud Selig, in his infinite wisdom, listened to those folk who think technology should take over the game. Oh, wait a second, he’s already done that — it was called Questech. Yup, employing machines that “know” the strike zone in order to “evaluate” the umpires — that went over well. The umpires and the players were actually united on this one: The men in blue whined to the public and Curt Schilling went Juan Marichal (look it up) on one of the machines.
Even if the players’ and umpires’ unions somehow agreed to be put under further scrutiny, what could be challenged? Certainly not balls and strikes: The Questech debacle pretty much ruled that one out. Therefore, an incident like A.J. Pierzynski’s questionable third strike in 2005, which some knuckleheads have argued necessitates instant replay, would be remain as is.
And when was the last time that you saw a home run that was fair get called foul? Still scratching your brain for answers? Don’t worry, you didn’t pull an Alberto Gonzalez and forget — you can’t remember because something like this never happens. Seriously. A fair ball will be called foul about as often as a family court judge will side with Britney Spears. Not gonna happen.
Lastly, for the fan’s sake, the games do not need to last any longer than they already are. If I were to ever turn on the television in mid-June and see Terry Francona toss out a red rosin bag to challenge whether or not Carl Crawford was out at second, I would probably cry. There are 162 games left to be played, and that one call will not make any sort of difference in any team’s season.
Casey Michel is a Brown College sophomore, sports editor and someone who actually believes instant replay belongs in baseball.
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