Nothing could beat a Lou Piniella, out-of-body, fall-to-the-knees, primal scream session, over a close call. Yes, Billy Martin could kick field goals, Bobby Cox could yell, and God knows what Earl Weaver said, but when Lou threw a base into the dugout, you were seeing pure, uncut, felony-grade American rage. You were seeing baseball.
Yesterday, Major League Baseball approved the use of video replays on close calls. From now on, if the Yankees get screwed on a play at first, Joe Girardi will simply walk out and call for the replay. If it's after the seventh, the umps will probably beat him to the punch.
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| It's up, and it's... GOOD! |
Don't get me wrong. This change was always going to come. It's overdue, considering how replays have become a part of the NFL, (though it's maddening that every touchdown, regardless of need, requires a review.) But somewhere, the ghost of Ralph Houk is slinging chains against the wall. And no matter how you slice it, baseball just ceded another part of its humanity to the corporations that rule the sports industry.
There will still be arguments. Balls and strikes can be disputed. Bean balls can be thrown. Runners will leave base paths, and managers will occasionally blow just for the sake of blowing. But teammates won't have to haul Brian McCann from the field on a close play at the plate. They'll just stand back and watch the Jumbotron.
Just saying. "Kill the umpire!" is dead. From now on, "Call the umpire!"
el duque--you can't have it both ways. You have lamented that instant replay will prolong the games. But by minimizing operatic managerial tirades, replay will shorten games. Besides, since each manager has only one challenge (if wrong on the first one) for the first six innings, there will still be plenty of close plays that will escape the scrutiny of the TV cameras and thus invite the vein-popping antics of old--just fewer of them, and with overall fairer results for both teams.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the antiquarian impulses of baseball fans--no one misses astroturf or the hideous rainbow-striped Astros uniforms--but this is a case where newer is clearly better.