While saying he still embraces his sport's "human element" and its "pace," Commissioner Bud Selig announced Tuesday that "the time has come" to create a place in baseball for technology by installing limited use of instant replay.
"There's nothing that's perfect in life, but the extraordinary technology will help us," Selig said in a conference call with reporters.
Starting in three series that open Thursday, including the Angels' matchup with the Texas Rangers, baseball will allow umpires to review replays of disputed home runs when there are questions about whether a ball was fair or foul, whether it cleared the fence, or was interfered with by a fan.
In a change to the game that some compared to the introduction of the designated hitter in the American League in the 1970s and wild-card playoff teams last decade, baseball officials said umpire crew chiefs can signal for a timeout in cases when they need to review a play. The crew chief will then review the "most appropriate video footage" from "all possible [television] feeds," through Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLB.com) in New York to determine the proper ruling.
Reversing an on-field call will require "clear and convincing evidence," MLB officials said in a news release.
Selig said he expected replay to be used on only "a very limited basis," and contended that reviews might take less time than when umpires convene to discuss a disputed call without the benefit of replay.
Baseball general managers voted 25-5 last year to use replay, and agreements were later struck with the umpires' and players' unions. The unions have the power to amend or ask MLB to halt replay after this season, a baseball official said.
"You want to get it right," Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said. "I think it makes sense."
Former Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey said replay was not an assault on the game's purity, declaring, "Umpires make mistakes. You don't want one of those plays to ruin the outcome of your game."
Cey argued replay should be expanded to address controversial incidents like the no-call of basepath interference on the New York Yankees' Reggie Jackson in a 1978 World Series game the Dodgers lost.
"If they review that, there's a high chance we win the Series," Cey said.
But Angels center fielder Torii Hunter wasn't sold. "I'm more of an old-school guy," he said. "I like the human decision of the umpires, whether it's right or wrong. That's what makes baseball. Guy might be safe and called out, all the fans get upset and scream, everyone jumping up and down. That's kind of cool."
