Six-minute review confirms MLB’s replay system still needs work
When Major League Baseball first implemented its expanded replay system in 2014, it was supposed to be a time-friendly concept. Sure, we knew a review was bound to cause a delay, but the league aimed to keep all reviews between 60 and 90 seconds in order to keep the games moving.
A little more than two years later, it’s painfully obvious that the league has become relaxed on those guidelines. Review times now frequently double the original desired time frame, and in some instances they’re lasting longer than a Three Stooges episode.
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One of the craziest examples to date took place during Friday’s Mets-Brewers game in Milwaukee, when Mets manager Terry Collins successfully challenged a play at the plate. The umpires had originally ruled that Brewers runner Aaron Hill was safe at home, beating the tag of Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki. However, they eventually determined he was out after a review.
Sounds simple enough. Well, aside from the fact it took three minutes and one second to make the call. And that wasn’t the end of it. After the teams started switching sides to begin the fourth inning, Brewers manager Craig Counsell approached home-plate umpire Larry Vanover about checking to see if Plawecki had illegally blocked the plate.
It wasn’t a formal challenge, but the umpires looked anyway. After two minutes and 49 seconds of a second review, the call was upheld and the game finally continued on.
We’ll always agree that getting the call correct is the most important job that umpires and replay officials have, but replay is supposed to make that easier, not more difficult. On some of these reviews, they’re seemingly splitting hairs, looking for any possible loophole to change a call.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing either, but most calls should be apparent within MLB’s originally suggested 60-to-90 second time frame. That much is for sure. If for some it’s not apparent, then umpires should stick with the original call and move on.
[Elsewhere: Clayton Kershaw zeroing in on another remarkable record]
That was the idea to begin with. At the very least, the league needs to more strongly enforce and encourage the umpires and the replay officials to reach quicker conclusions. No fan wants to watch umpires huddle for 30 seconds, let alone six minutes. And no player wants to stand around with nothing to do for nearly ten minutes.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
