A Rule Is A Rule, Unless There’s No Replay

Uh oh. Here we go again. Not necessarily the game, but 1-0 is a lot different than 3-0. Using replays (or replay challenges) on plays like this Robinson Cano tag on Omar Infante in the second game of the ALCS between the Tigers and the Yankees seems like a no brainer. Why won’t MLB do it?

I keep thinking that there must be more complicated game situations that would be further complicated if an umpire’s ruling in the first part of a play were to be overturned. I bet there are some of those. But I bet we can deal with them. ML rules have pages and pages and pages of examples of situations and rules interpretations, meant to interpret the rules in a practical way. One of the reasons we love the game is because every day we see something we’ve never seen before.

The thing we should never see again is an obviously botched call stand when the replay is irrefutable. Let’s argue about how all those contingent events should be handled. That won’t be easy. But getting the calls right, when the video is clear, should be.