Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for No Replays

Inspired by Craigory Schmidt, here we go...

(Executive Summary: MLB should fix the bizarre set-up of ballpark fences/foul poles instead of falling into a trend of adopting replay technology that only adds to the controversy and takes away from the game itself.)

If anyone here watched the Lakers/Spurs Game 4 on TNT just a few minutes ago, the case not only against replay but against this obsession of TV and Radio to nitpick calls speaks for itself. Long story short, the Lakers won by two...the last play involved contact between Derek Fisher (laker) and Brent Barry (Spur) that could have, but was not called a foul.

As the game ended, Doug Collins of the TNT crew spoke of nothing but the non-call. On the LAKERS broadcast, there was little discussion of much else. The post-game on TNT was about nothing but the non-call.

So you'd imagine the Spurs players and coaches would be livid given such a controversial call.

Pop: "If I were the ref, I wouldn't make that call."
Duncan: "They're not going to make that call."
Barry: "No. That isn't going to get called."

So if the OTHER TEAM doesn't even care, where exactly is the controversy? In the fan's minds, that's where...thanks to the laziness of the telecasters, who in lieu of actual analysis, look to stir up the emotions of the still-raw fans. Why? So they'll watch the post-game! Call in and talk about it! Indeed, Lakers fans had already come up with their arsenal of "bad calls" that hurt their team through the game. It's a bunch of garbage that has nothing to do with who won and why. Dissecting a professional game in any sport is hard. It requires a lot of thought, caution and professionalism. Putting a last minute call into question is much easier. (and more sexy, because any boob with an opinion can play this game.)

POINT #1 -- Replay solves nothing. Controversy will always exist because it is easy pickings for analysts.

Evidence: Are there fewer arguments over calls in College Football or NFL these days?

Unfortunately, the discussions of calls are put in dire terms by play-by-play teams, when they often have a loose if not outright incorrect understanding of the rules. The strike zone, for instance, is not a static area...it is a changing shape determined by the stance of the batter. A catch isn't a catch until the ball is successfully transfered out of the glove. Doubtful many fans or announcers could put these concepts to words or practice. That doesn't stop them from trying to make snap judgements about whether a call was right or not (I've never heard an announcer say, "You know, I don't really know that how that rule goes.") NOTE: The great announcers didn't and don't waste much time with this nonsense. They would just say, "That's a close call at first" or similar.

Which leads to point #2:

Point #2: The real issues is no one understands the rules beyond the officials.
Evidence: Did you watch ESPN's saturation coverage of all these "blown" HR calls?

ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball featuring the Mets v. Yankees was the starting point for this current rush to install replay in MLB. A deep fly ball to left tailed out near the foul pole, took a wicked turn off something and went into the crowd. At least 20 replays of this ball were shown in the next hour, with neither announcer noticing the ball actually hit the top of the wall before hitting the corner of the foul pole (which was strangely painted black at the bottom in Yankee Stadium). So the 3rd Base ump called it right as a HR, but asked for backup. The three others thought it was foul, so he changed his call. The Mets won by like 10, but that didn't stop ESPN from acting like this was the biggest mistake in the history of professional officiating.

Would replay have solved this? Maybe. But attention would then only turn to calls at first, plays at the plate, borderline catches, etc. A HR barely getting over the wall or being foul or being a double is really no more or less important than a close third strike call with two outs. So who cares? This solves nothing. ESPN will still focus on stirring up controversy and the replay will solve none of it.

The week following, each SportsCenter featured a BRAND NEW controversial HR call or non-call. The funny thing is, I watched them all and honestly couldn't call 80 percent of them. I don't know the ground rules for those stadiums. Sometimes the wall is in, sometimes not, sometimes the line is on top of the wall, sometimes three inches under, sometimes above the wall.

I know this might sound a bit, uh, logical, but if what you're really after is clear HR calls...FIX THE STUPID WALLS SO THE BOUNDARIES ARE CLEAR. Each stadium -- especially these new ones -- has some jacked up outfield boundaries to give the place personality, while at the same time compromising clarity as to what is or is not in play. Seems to me, you could pretty easily paint a line of yellow atop all walls, and push any structures that are out-of-play further back from the in-play area to prevent this. This is the Big Leagues. It's like if in the NBA you had the shot clock in a different position and a bunch of stairs perched atop the backboard in Phoenix, but then a restaurant behind the glass in NY. It's silly. Push that garbage back 5 feet and this would never come up again. Put a little netting basket along each wall if you like. And as for the foul pole...these calls get made correctly all the time. This one at Yankee Stadium is a direct result of the bizarre wall set-up, where the wall comes in three feet ahead of the foul pole, which is also strangely painted black at the bottom, unlike the rest of it.

Or, we could just waste time and energy instituting a new replay system that will only lead to more nitpicking of calls and ultimately slow the game down to a bareknuckled crawl...all to feed the addiction of the ESPN generation, which will spend days and days arguing about whether a play was called correctly or not -- yet never actually understanding the rules they are so adamently debating. This is not a solution to anything...just ask the NFL, or watch a College Football game with the ESPN crew and honestly tell me replay has helped the game.