Call me crazy, but I think that if baseball had the technology during the late 1800's to determine balls and strikes as well as instant replay for tags that they would have employed that usage versus appointing an umpire.
"It's part of the human element!" the purists say.
It's no secret to anyone watching baseball right now that umpiring has come under some serious scrutiny. Several episodes with my local favorite Tampa Bay Rays come to mind alone with calls so bad that even the normally mellow Joe Maddon had a bone to pick with the hallowed purveyors of the MLB rulebook.
But the real travesty occurred yesterday against Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga who was denied a perfect game - one of the rarest occasions in Major League Baseball (though not this year apparently) - due to a missed call by umpire Jim Joyce. To Joyce's credit he immediately owned up to the mistake after the game displaying a humbled grace so rarely found in umpires that make mistakes of that nature.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig had an opportunity to make things right by overruling the admittedly bad ruling by Joyce, but instead went into the standard, obsolete protectionist mode that he always does.
The Ye Olde King of all that needs to be changed in baseball.
Mr. Selig would respond in the following way: "Given last night's calls and other recent events,.."
ehem, several Rays games, the recent White Sox debacle, etc. "..I will explore our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features."
Selig went on to acknowledge that the game should have ended differently for Galarraga, but that the outcome of the game would not be changed. So in other words, the esteemed Commish will sandbag on the issue, likely initiate some halfhearted rule amendment a la the Luxury Tax, and continue to pursue business as usual in the MLB.
Business as usual that has become counterproductive for baseball. Every popular team sport in North America has some form of a salary cap and uses instant replay. All...except baseball. Baseball fans often spout hatred regarding the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox because of their repeated success in Free Agency through bloated contracts that small market teams won't pay. Is it really those teams' fault though? If Selig employed the salary cap that every other league has realized is needed in order for parity then quite obviously those teams would no longer spend in that capacity.
Technology can no longer be ignored either. Why bicker over strikes and balls when we have a machine that does it better than any human being could possibly do? It's not as if a Home Plate Umpire would become obsolete. He would still be needed to call tags and could even be used to voice each call to retain the so-called "human element" the purists espouse. Why not solve the problem with a readily available solution rather than fighting the good fight against tradition long past it's purpose?
The game of baseball shouldn't involve success going to the highest bidder, have the outcome of a game determined by a mistake that could be avoided through accessible technology, or worse yet influenced by an umpire long past his prime with an apparent axe to grind. Over the years we've seen the lot of these results which have left a collective bad taste in far too many baseball fans' mouths.
It's time for baseball to change and apparently the current Commissioner is not capable of initiating what many fans want. Now, more than ever baseball needs to adapt as the entertainment dollar for the average American has become more of a scarcity. If a sports fan becomes disenchanted often he will find another team sport to support. It might be time for the owners in the MLB to replace Bud Selig before baseball finds itself losing even more credibility which could ultimately effect it's marketability.
