MLB Fastball 05.31.08: Instant Replay, Maple Bats Focus of MLB Discussions
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 05.31.2008
Steroids used to be the most prevalent topic concerning Major League Baseball. While still an issue, the use of instant replay for home runs and safety concerns over maple bats have seemed to move to the forefront of the MLB’s greatest problems. In this week’s MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein takes a look at these concerns.
Pressing Topics In Major League Baseball
Instant Replay, Maple Bats At The Forefront Of Discussions
It should come as a relief to commissioner Bud Selig and the rest of Major League Baseball that after years of dealing with a steroid controversy that still lingers, the most pressing issues currently hanging over the league's head revolves around instant replay and the use of maple bats. These are, however, crucial talking points for the league that need to be acted upon immediately, as the former could potentially cost teams wins while the latter could ultimately cost someone his or her life.
Instant Replay
In an age where technology can do just about anything and most major professional sports leagues utilize instant replay in some fashion, the MLB has stayed on the sidelines and used the more traditional route of umpire discretion. But several blown home run calls recently in this 2008 season have made instant replay a hot topic. And though certainly not the first time instant replay has been discussed for use in games, this is the first time the league at least appears to be ready to experiment with the idea.
Instant replay is not being looked for in all situations. It's unlikely replay will be opened up to situations such as balls and strikes or whether or a player is safe at the plate. Umpires will not have every decision taken out of their hands. Instead, it is only expected to be used for home runs calls, which have been botched several times by umpires this season.
According to an ESPN.com article, the MLB may start utilizing instant replay next season. Several rounds of experimentation will take place, including in the Arizona Fall League, the World Baseball Classic and spring training games. If things run smoothly, instant replay could very well be instituted for the 2009 season. Again, only issues arising from home run calls – fair or foul, whether the ball cleared the wall and if fans interfered with the play – are game for instant replay.
This has really been a long time coming. I could never understand why baseball was so adamant against the use of instant replay. I know some fans are old school about the game and don't want technology to come and ruin the experience, and even lengthen a game. But you have to keep up with the times. Instant replay allows for the right calls to be made instead of simply letting umpires make decisions that turn out to be blown calls. Plus, these replays aren't going to add all that much time to a game. Even if you tack on two-three minutes for a replay, isn't it worth it to get the call right? How much of an inconvenience is it really?
I could understand displeasure toward instant replay if it was going to be used for everything. That could not only add major minutes, but it will also eliminate umpire judgment completely. We'll have managers across the league arguing every single ball and strike, which are subjective to begin with since umpires have varying strike zones. Base-running calls might technically have a use for instant replay, too, but the frequency at which managers will take advantage of such an option makes it a bad idea for use in such situations – at least for now.
Situations in which managers would argue home run calls occur much less frequently. But the times they could, which we have witnessed this year, present a legitimate case for the league to at least try out instant replay. There's no reason that baseball "purists" who are concerned over a few extra minutes should disallow the league from making the right call in situations that have recently been called completely wrong.
Maple Bats
When it comes to matters of life and death, the MLB really doesn't want to play around. It's the reason base coaches need to wear helmets. It's the reason we're probably going to see a push for modification or full-blown banishment of maple bat use in the league.
It was one thing when Don Long, hitting coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates, was hit in the face with a split maple bat, slicing him along the cheek. It's another thing when a fan, Susan Rhodes, was nailed in the jaw at Dodgers Stadium with the barrel end of Todd Helton's broken bat. Now healing from a shatter jaw, Rhodes' experience drastically increases the need for the league to seriously consider getting rid of these bats.
A problem exists in the fact that the union has a say in bats, and will surely oppose any move toward getting rid of the maple variety considering players have an attachment to them. Barry Bonds' success in hitting home runs with maple bats increased their popularity throughout the rest of the league. And still to this day, players that use maple bats are more comfortable with them.
I will be the last person to argue with the notion that players need to be comfortable with their equipment. You won't find hockey players using hockey sticks and skates they don't like. Tiger Woods isn't going to use just any set of golf clubs. And basketball players have to wear the right set of kicks for their game. To think baseball players shouldn't have options isn't a really fair notion.
Safety, however, needs to come before everything else, especially when it concerns fans. The last thing the league needs is a death on or off the field as a result of a broken maple bat. A death is what caused the need for coaches to wear helmets – Mike Coolbaugh was hit with a line drive while coaching a minor league game last July.
Maple bats are an issue because of how they break. When a maple bat breaks, it separates into large pieces that tend to carry sharp edges at the end. Ash bats, however, shatter into much smaller pieces. The smaller pieces don't present as much of a concern as large pieces that technically have the ability to impale anybody on or near the field. Experimentation can be done to the width of the handle to lessen the likelihood of the bat breaking. But the make up of the wood itself isn't going to change and I'm sure there will still be a tendency for the bat to break in large pieces.
The league could try to give that experimentation a shot, though. If effective, players would still have use of the maple bats they love so much with a much safer outcome when the bat shatters. Ineffectiveness in that experiment, however, should call for an immediate banishment of the bats until manufacturers can produce maple bats that don't carry such a risk. Players might not like it. But it's a much better option than a player, coach or worst of all – a fan – losing a life because players refused to put safety and security over personal preference.
Feedback …
You say the NL West has shown it's been good in the past partly because they've had the wild card team come from their division. Your basic point about the NL West regressing is definitely true, but at this rate the division could very well still get the wild card. If the Rockies, Padres and Giants continue to be dreadful and the Dodgers and D-Backs get to play each of them 19 times, it might be enough to pad both of their records and get them in the playoffs. Well, the D-Backs are going to get there no matter what, I think, but in what could be a tight race for the Wild Card against teams like the Mets, Braves, Phillies, and even the Marlins, the weaker division will be the deciding factor maybe.
- Rob
Yes, two teams can still walk out of the NL West into the playoffs. But at least in 2007, the rest of the division played well, too – not just the two teams that made the playoffs. In 2006, while the rest of the division wasn't anything special to speak of, they weren't quite as bad as the Giants, Rockies and Padres appear to be this year. And that was more so the point I was trying to make.
Thanks for the comment, Rob, and everybody keep ‘em coming!
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