MLB to institute replay for home runs

Replay will be utilized to help clarify questionable home run and boundary calls, and will be used during the playoffs and World Series.

“We are pleased that we were able to reach this agreement,” MLBPA executive director Donald M. Fehr said in a statement. “Following the World Series, the players will review the matter, and then determine what course to take for the future. While the use of instant replay is an experiment, we hope that over the balance of this season it will prove to be a success.”

Baseball joins the NFL and the NHL in using replay, and the umpires seem to be on-board, if only to maintain the mantra of making the right call when possible.

“It’s here, it’s what we’re going to deal with and we can use it as another tool,” umpire Tim Welke said Tuesday night. “Maybe if we happen to make a mistake we can correct something and our goal as umpires always is to get it right and not affect the outcome of a game. and it’s another tool we can use to do that and if it helps us correct the mistake, that’s a great thing.”

Orioles manager Dave Trembley isn’t a huge proponent of the timing of the new wrinkle.

“I find it very strange that they would pick, with 30 games to go in the season, that they would start it now. I find that very peculiar,” Trembley said. “Number one, if they wanted it so bad what took them so long to get it going and why wait until this particular point in time? I think they fudged on it because they originally said they were going to do it in the Arizona Fall League.”

Trembley is directly opposed to the idea of implementing replay for over-riding balls and strikes.

“I would say that they better be sure that they’ve got the kinks worked out,” Trembley said. “Otherwise, they are going to set themselves up for some embarrassing situations that could possibly occur. And I don’t want think Major League Baseball at this particular point in time, needs that.”

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