![]() And in the presentation it was surprising how many plays were too close to call, even with multiple angles and the best high-definition replays possible. It's Torre's guess that most challenges will be upheld on the basis of inconclusive evidence. That's when I realized that we certainly can't ignore the technology." The one thing I didn't want to have happen was to have something like that take center stage over the game itself. There was a lot of conversation and stuff written about that play as opposed to the game itself. "I sort of like the game the way it was," Torre said with a laugh. Torre is old school, but he repeated Wednesday that he became convinced of the need for change after a missed call at second base during a Tigers-Yankees postseason game two Octobers ago. It remains to be seen how often plays are challenged, but about half the test games in Spring Training didn't have any appeals. Klemm, who expects to be at the Replay Operations Center almost every day, worked as a Minor League umpire for nine years and had served in various executive capacities before being named replay director. And one of the added-value expectations, once a challenge is registered, is the belief that one or more umpires who do not have a replay of their own at the moment will slide over and add more eyes to the play. But at any given time there may be six umpires and even more technicians available. On, say, a Sunday night, there may be only one umpire working. To further add transparency and fan-friendliness, a written explanation of the decision will be posted on MLB.com. If calls are confirmed or overturned, the technician will then forward the decisive angle to the stadium so that it can be shown on the scoreboard as well as on the television broadcasts. While this is going on, teams will now be allowed to show close plays on their video boards. Overturned: If there is inarguable evidence that a mistake was made. Stands: The replay was too close to tell one way or the other. Confirmed: If replay shows clear evidence that the umps got it right. The replay official has three possible calls. So he was already in the process of reviewing potential challenges even before Marinak, on his own headset, alerted him that an appeal had been made.Īfter Klemm made his decision, he informed Marinak on the headset and the "game umpire" repeated it back to him, just to be certain there was no misunderstanding. When Klemm noticed a close play, he immediately began asking the tech for different angles. To his left will be a technician with several smaller shots of various angles. Then Klemm, playing the replay official, and Marinak, standing in for the umpire at the game, went through a mock review process for two plays.Įach umpire will sit at a replay station on the right side of a cubicle with two high-definition monitors in front of him. On just three occasions, it happened three times, never against the same team. Only 27 times did it happen twice in a game. By MLB's reckoning, there were only 377 out of some 50,000 that merited review. He was on the committee, along with fellow manager (and 2014 Hall of Fame inductee) Tony La Russa and Braves president John Schuerholz, that devised the replay expansion.Īmong the most impressive parts of the presentation were the statistics MLB compiled which showed how few "clear and convincing incorrect calls" were made by umpires in 2013. Joe Torre, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations, joined by conference call. Whenever a manager formally challenges a call, or after the sixth inning, if the umpires on the field simply want a second opinion, this is where the ultimate decisions will be made.Ĭhris Marinak, senior director, labor economy, and Justin Klemm, director of replay, explained the new system and then demonstrated its capabilities for more than two dozen reporters. And it's the nerve center of Major League Baseball's expanded replay system.īeginning Sunday, every play of every game this season that is subject to review will be analyzed in this room by at least one umpire and one trained technician. It's a technological marvel, outfitted with state-of-the-art video equipment. NEW YORK - It's called the Replay Operations Center, a 900-square-foot room at the offices of Major League Baseball Advanced Media in the historic Chelsea Market building.
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