I know a lot of paper has been wasted over this topic so I figured there was no need to spend my time stating my opinion, but since numerous people have asked me, here it is:
1) You can not, under any circumstance, reverse the call on the field after the fact. This would set baseball on a very slippery slope with no true end in sight.
2) I have tremendous respect for both J Joyce and A Galarraga for how they both handled the situation.
3) At least this call did not change the outcome of the game. Yes it prevented "history", but there are plenty of bad calls every single day that have a direct impact on the standings and if a team makes the playoffs or not, and they aren't even talked about.
4) Whether or not this leads to a wider use of replay is yet to be seen; I'm on the fence of this, as the technology is there to make more correct calls, but an umpire's strike zone usually has a greater impact on most games than one "bang-bang" play at a base.
And this didn't really matter, but how come no one is talking about Galarraga continuing to throw from the wind-up with a runner on 1st base and the runner advanced to 3rd on two fielder indifference calls. Isn't the catcher and/or a coach supposed to remind him there is a runner on base in case he forgot?
Friday, June 4, 2010
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The call was bad--we know that. But I am not in favor of replay on calls. The homerun thing is fine, but anything beyond that would be too much. Umpires, errors (by umpires and players) are part of the game.
ReplyDeleteAs somebody who umpires and officiates, I feel bad for Joyce. No official wants to miss a call and then miss a call in a huge spot.
I know people were upset, but it dominated the sports page for 2 days as if it was the only story in town.
A friend of mine plays for the Tigers and he said they were all pissed at the time, but afterwards, were appreciative of Joyce apologizing and though unfortunate, that happens sometimes.
Maybe someday I can throw a near perfecto and get a nice new corvette...