Throughout
the first few weeks of the 2014 Major League Baseball season the biggest
discussion topic in the game has been the installation of instant replay into
the game. It hasn’t gone as smoothly as the league would have preferred it too
with many of the replays taking too long – some upwards of five minutes – and others
being blown despite rather obvious replays.
These are
obvious problems facing MLB, but I’m sure the system will take time to work out
its kinks. I can’t remember how it was when the NFL instituted its instant
replay, but I highly doubt it was a 100 percent smooth transition. Hell, today instant
replay in football still isn’t perfect.
My biggest
worry about instant replay coming into this season was actually that it would
cut down on one of the most exciting moments or things in all of sports … the
baseball ejection. Maybe it’s because I grew up loving the Atlanta Braves and their
MLB all-time leader in career ejections manager Bobby Cox, but I absolutely
love watching managers (and even players) arguing their heads off with an
umpire and the impending will-they-or-won’t-they be tossed dramatics
that ensue. Sure, some of these arguments lasted as long as it does to review
an instant replay, but they were far more interesting and exciting to watch.
I thought my
theory that instant replay would cut down on these exciting ejections in
baseball was well on its way to being proven. Through the first two weeks of
the season there had only been two ejections in the entire game: Chicago Cubs
manager Rich Renteria and Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. I don’t have
statistics to tell me the average number of persons who normally would have
been ejected in a two week span, but I can tell you with almost 100 percent certainty
it would have been more than two.
I think this
theory will ultimately prove to be right. At the end of the season it’ll
interesting to see how many fewer ejections there will have been in 2014 as
compared to 2013. However, this week has shown me that the highly exciting act
of ejection may never be taken from the game completely. Through yesterday
there have already been at least five ejections in the game this week, and
likely there have been others that I’ve missed. Part of the reason for this is
that ball and strike calls, which can’t (and never should be) reviewed will
always lead to arguments between managers/players and umpires. Also, the
introduction of instant replay in MLB has led to an automatic ejection for any
manager who comes out to argue a reviewed call – which led to quick hooks for
both Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell and Texas Rangers manager Ron
Washington earlier this week.
This gives
me at least slight hope for the ejection, which should never be ejected from
the game.
