Pro: There is no reason why college baseball shouldn’t adopt a system similar to that of Major League Baseball in which home runs are subject to review. We’ve seen it occur over and over again – home run calls being blown in decisive games that have huge effects on the outcomes.
The human error element is a big part of baseball, but when it comes down to big moments, getting the call right should be priority No. 1 for college umpires. Nobody wants to see a team win or lose a College World Series game because umpires couldn’t exactly determine where the ball landed.
Fans and players don’t want to see it, and umpires especially don’t want to see that happen. College football and basketball have both allowed limited instant replay under certain circumstances, which has worked out well for both sports.
Umpires get calls wrong all the time, which happens because it’s an accepted part of the game. But why not limit those errors by instituting a system that helps get the call right?
It wouldn’t slow the game down any more than a conference of the umpiring crew, and it would certainly reassure everyone that the outcome of the game was fair.
Instant replay would only be used to ensure the home run call was made correctly per discretion of the crew chief, who allows the umpires to make the call to view the play again.
In a game that has become so much more advanced than Major League Baseball, with innovations such as instigating the designated hitter rule, using aluminum bats and requiring drug testing before the CWS, there is no reason for college baseball to fall behind the times.
-Nick Sturiale
Con: After a discussion that lasted for over two seasons, Major League Baseball has finally decided to add instant replay.
Officially added to the game on Aug. 28, instant replay will be used in situations that are what people are calling, “”boundary calls.”” In other words, it will be used to decide if a ball is a home run or a foul ball, instances of fan interference or if a ball completely cleared the fence.
While there is no doubt instant replay will make calls more accurate, it will, however, completely tarnish the tradition of the game – the NCAA would be insane to use replay in college baseball.
Baseball is now the last of the four major professional sports to implement replay and is currently the only of the three major college sports that doesn’t use replay.
Using instant replay is by far one of the biggest changes that baseball has made in its 139-year history. In that time, every call has been made based on the judgment of the umpires. Why is it that all of the sudden we stopped trusting umpires’ abilities to make correct rulings on the field?
Instant replay takes away from human error. While that may sound like a good thing, it tarnishes the one thing that’s so great about baseball – no play has a definite result. Many rulings in baseball are determined based on the judgment of the umpire, such as check swings and balls and strikes. Umpires blow calls all the time, and while that may be a bad thing, it’s part of what makes baseball so great.
By using instant replay, the game is becoming artificial. It is becoming a phony example of a great game. If you’re going to use instant replay, why not use pitching machines instead of real players. Heck, just get rid of baseball altogether and have teams battle it out on an XBOX 360.
-David Blattman