12:48 PM - January 17, 2014 by RaychelSnr
It did take almost fifteen years, but at this time I'd like to take a moment and officially welcome Major League Baseball to the 21st century. It seems natural that America's pastime could get stuck in the past. But it also seemed obvious to many of us that when Little League baseball figured out a way to make instant replay work, perhaps the professional version of the sport needed to put down the Sears catalog and start shopping online.
Expanded replay for the MLB in 2014 will be no small step for the sport. The "in the neighborhood" play for force-outs at second base is still off limits, but essentially every other play in the game is up for a manager's challenge. Team's can have an employee designated to check for chances to challenge who then can call the dugout to inform the manager. If the challenge is successful, managers will be given an additional challenge. After the 7th inning umpires may initiate challenges given that a team hasn't unsuccessfully challenged previously in the game.
Fans of manager-umpire arguments might be feeling disappointed along with the baseball purists. After a certain point of heated debate, umpires are allowed to confront the manager and force him to decide if he wants to challenge the play -- but will disagreements even take place on the field now that managers can take the debate straight to the video?
Sound Off: What are your initial thoughts regarding the MLB's expanded replay in 2014?
Sports Headlines for January 17, 2014
- Charlie Strong isn't messing around at Texas -- just check out his rules and expectations. [Image]
- How are we supposed to predict the Super Bowl now? The Swami Camel has died!
- Come on guys, we all know A-Rod is innocent -- it's the milk not the drugs. [Image]
- Cool Runnings 2.0? Jamaican bobsled team is close to qualifying for 2014 Olympics.
- Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is doing all he can to remind the team they're 0-2 over their past two games. [Image]
Working...