Baseball fans may see fewer managers arguing with umpires next year. Instant replay for almost every play of a game has tentatively been approved for next season. Owners, umpires and the players union must give the plan final approval.
Every play except balls and strikes will be reviewable under the plan announced on Thursday. Managers will be allowed three challenges per game, one in the first six innings, two more from the seventh inning on.
Instant replay is now used for home run calls and expanding it to more plays has been discussed for several years. Barry Bloom is a writer and columnist for MLB.com. He says replays will make the call final.
"There can’t be any further argument. So I think in one way it shuts down a lot of the tumult on the field that you normally have. And that’s compensated by the time it takes to do the replay," Bloom said.
Bloom said umpires went along with the plan with assurances that baseball would invest in the necessary technology that would allow them to make the right calls, and not feel like they were being second-guessed.
Bloom said pro football has used instant replay successfully for more than a decade and it’s time baseball did the same.