Does Baseball Need Instant Replay?

Amidst controversy over two missed calls by the umpire crews on home run balls in the past week, Major League Baseball has decided to experiment with instant replay in the coming off season.

Major League Baseball announced plans to give instant replay a try starting in the fall. Baseball is the only sport out of the big four professional sports that does not utilize any form of instant replay. However, many wonder if baseball should have instant replay.

Well, for many the wait for instant replay may not be long. Baseball announced plans to try out instant replay in the fall ball leagues and throughout spring training next year. Major League Baseball will make a determination after spring training regarding the future of instant replay in baseball.

This action comes shortly after a homerun by Carlos Delgado was mistakenly ruled a foul ball, and a homerun by Alex Rodriguez was ruled to be off the wall resulting in a double.

Initially, instant replay may be used to judge whether or not a hit ball is a homerun, the possibilities of instant replay are endless. Coaches could have the opportunity to review a certain play as they do in football, officiating crews could call upon the instant replay to help them with a close call at a base, and perhaps instant replay could even be used to check whether or not a batter checked his swing at the plate, or continued through the strike zone.

Not since the designated hitter rule has baseball seen an opportunity for the sport to change this dramatically. To this day, the designated hitter is still met with controversy and lack of support from many. So what will avid fans think of instant replay?

The sport of baseball has always been resistant to change, more so the fans than the players. Baseball has not had dramatic rule changes as have other sports such as hockey, football, and basketball. Many changes to hockey and basketball have essentially changed the sport almost entirely from what they once were. Hockey is no longer a low scoring, hard hitting game, and basketball is no longer dominated by the strongest low post players. You could say that the sports have evolved, but for many true fans, they have become more commercialized, faster paced, and higher scoring.

What does this have to do with baseball? Baseball is America's pastime and the fans of this sport are like no other. They are dedicated 162 days of the year. They know all of the nuances of their team, most know every rule of the sport, and they don't take well to change. Baseball fans have trouble dealing with their favorite player being traded to another club; they despise having a new ballpark built, and just want everything to stay as it is.

Instant replay would present a significant change to the sport, a change that fans may not give into easily. Instant replay could eliminate the umpire and manager arguments that fans love to watch, it could make week long arguments with fellow fans over whether or not the right call or the wrong call was made come to an end, and more importantly it will change the sport as we know it.

Baseball is a constant, something that you can count on. It has stood the test of time and will likely be America's pastime forever. The sport does not need change. Mistakes in life, like mistakes in baseball are a way of life. Mistakes are a part of the game.