I am sure people who HATE instant replay in baseball were disgusted by what happened in Atlanta today.
Brian McCann hit a ball that was originally not ruled a homer.
It wasn't a walk off homer.
And then the umpires got together... and saw something.
The ball cleared the fence.It turns out Brian McCann did indeed hit a walk off homer.
And guess what? The cameras caught it. And the umpires, who have a hard job trying to watch things in real time, used technology to make sure the call was RIGHT.
So McCann was able to be credited with what he did.
And the game ended the way it SHOULD have... with a walk off homer.A team in a tight pennant race gets to win the game BECAUSE THEY DID!
And I'm sorry that it didn't have the "human element" that so many people cling to.
I know it hurts to know that the call was correct and there wasn't the arguing and debating that you think everyone loves to watch.
(Arguing that would have lasted as long as it took the umpires to check the tape and get the call right.)
I know a day like this is rough for people who hate the idea of instant replay.
I'll be sensitive.
Sorry... still not a fan of Instant Replay. Perhaps when all of the players are robots, it will make sense. But, no, baseball is played by human beings who are, lordy, lordy... imperfect. Baseball, somehow, endured many a year without it and did fine. Is it a coincidence that all of the technologies come into baseball, including the greed of television, and the caliber of play in baseball, in my opinion is probably at the lowest it has ever been. As in all sports, baseball is governed by money and it is the fans that suffer. And now you want the seeming perfection of Instant Replay? How about perfecting the game itself by reducing the number of teams, thus reducing the number of players, thus introducing the fans to quality ball players again ?!?!?
ReplyDeleteI never understood the bizarre "when all the players are robots" line.
ReplyDeleteI am not talking about replacing the players. I am not talking about replacing the umpires. I am talking about using technology that we have to get the call RIGHT.
So basically dragonfly888 thinks the walk off homer should have stayed a double... even though it was a homer and we could all see it was.
That's fine... I just don't understand why you WANT calls to be wrong.
If a HUMAN BEING hits a home run, that person should be credited with a homer. I'm sorry that's such an outrageous point of view.
"the caliber of play in baseball, in my opinion is probably at the lowest it has ever been"
How so?
I can see that you can't see my point, so I will not belabour it...
ReplyDelete"the caliber of play in baseball, in my opinion is probably at the lowest it has ever been"
How so?
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I love baseball and have since the 60's, but it doesn't grab me anymore. Granted there may be other forces at play, but I loved having MANY high caliber players on each team. It's just mathematics... X number of GREAT players / Y number of TEAMS = Z number of GREAT players per team. Z was a much higher number in days past. Last time I looked, baseball was a team sport and it was spectacular to watch when the players, on the average team, were "better". The "Cream of the Crop" so to speak. The "Cream" has been too watered down. More like "milk"... if you get my drift...
JMHO... thanks...
Fair enough.
ReplyDeletePersonally I love the game now and I love that they are finding talent in places where big league players didn't come from before
There was some Latin presence in baseball in the 1960s but not what it is today
South America has a greater representation in baseball and so does Asia.
it is different but no smaller a talent pool.
But I can't argue about your own passion for the game.
Thanks for reading the blog
I am curious though...
ReplyDeleteHe hit a homer
They didn't call it a homer at first
Then we all saw it was a homer
Without instant replay he wouldn't have been credited with a homer.
Why is getting the call right bad again?
I just like the fact that we are not perfect. Yes, a bad call was made. Perhaps a bad call was made on the previous pitch, as well and this batter would have struck out. Who knows. If there were no cameras constantly repeating the play, this would just have faded away into urban legend. I like real grass and real rain and, yes, real mistakes... Keep in mind... unless the ump has it in for one team, he will make mistakes on both sides of the fence...
ReplyDeleteI don't want to play a video game when I go to the ball park... I am trying to get away from all of the high tech stuff when I watch these guys and dream a bit of the path that I should have taken when I was 15 years old !!! (And that is coming from an IT person !)
I guess this is just a personal preference.
I enjoy your blog, regardless and will continue to pop in. Thanks very much.
Regards,
Kevin.
Toronto, ON Canada