Baseball fans ...

[Luanne]

I know this has been talked about for a long time. Given the three bad calls in the Rockies game last night, I think BOTH should be put into play. I think not only are the umpires just not too bright and make mistakes, but I also believe a lot of them intentionally help teams win by calling balls strikes and vice versa with the other team. I have seen an umpire call pitches strikes from a Giant pitcher that actually grazed a Rockie jersey (and the Rockie was not crowding the plate either). Of course the Giants won that game because the umpire did it all night long.

[Luanne]

I see not too many people watch baseball here. Oh well.

[Trish]

I see not too many people watch baseball here. Oh well.

 

 

My goodness, it's been less than an hour and I was cooking dinner!

 

I also think they need to add a separate Steroids Hall of Fame, for those who have set significant yet tainted records. Oh, for the "dead ball era!"

[Pawz4me]

I think instant replay would be a great idea.

[Mommy22alyns]

I am for instant replay to be expanded and greater accountability for umpires.

[Luanne]

My goodness, it's been less than an hour and I was cooking dinner!

 

I also think they need to add a separate Steroids Hall of Fame, for those who have set significant yet tainted records. Oh, for the "dead ball era!"

 

Time was sure moving slowly for me today. I thought it had been much longer than that, but I see I was wrong. Silly me!

[Spy Car]

Baseball is slow enough already. Play ball!

 

No replays or machine called balls and strikes.

 

Bill (old school)

[LostSurprise]

I think the human factor is an interesting, vital, and sometimes aggravating part of the game. I think people get more involved because of bad calls.

 

Replay should be available, but without human judgement I think the game loses something.

[Tita Gidge]

I voted to leave it be.

 

Human error is part and parcel of the game; of any game, really. It doesn't really matter (to me) if it's on the part of the player, coach, manager, owner, or ump. It doesn't matter to me that there are crooked people involved at every level, because I believe they're the exceptions. I'm patently against exceptions dictating the rule. It annoys me.

 

I tell my sons the same thing when their games are affected by umpire error. Sometimes those errors run in their favor, and sometimes against - it all comes out in the wash, IME and IMO. Besides - it's rare to have one bad call in isolation. What might look like a single bad call (high and inside) could be consistent with how he's been calling them all night. In which case, it behooves the batter to pay attention and adjust his own approach to the ball.

 

It's like playing Scrabble with someone who keeps challenging your words. It takes a game and turns it into no-holds barred war. No thanks, I play and watch cames as a fun escape. If I want battles and challenges, I'll just watch my kids. Or Real Housewives.

 

Four of my sons are little league umps. It gave them a new appreciation and insight LOL.

 

ETA: I didn't like when MLB first decided to allow video replays, but this is about as far as I'd like to see them using it. I wouldn't want them to allow its use for anything more than they already do.

[LucyStoner]

If the umpires don't make iffy calls, what exactly would I do at a game? Yelling at the ump is 2/3 of the fun to me. Most of the time the umps do an excellent job and get yelled at for perfectly fine calls. I've seen very, very few games where I thought the result was altered by a bad call.

 

FWIW, baseball is my FOO's second religion. Catholicism and Baseball. I am not really sure they always went in that order for some of my extended family either. I follow baseball pretty closely, even rooting for a famously bad team.

[Tita Gidge]

If the umpires don't make iffy calls, what exactly would I do at a game? Yelling at the ump is 2/3 of the fun to me. Most of the time the umps do an excellent job and get yelled at for perfectly fine calls. I've seen very, very few games where I thought the result was altered by a bad call.

 

FWIW, baseball is my FOO's second religion. Catholicism and Baseball. I am not really sure they always went in that order for some of my extended family either. I follow baseball pretty closely, even rooting for a famously bad team.

 

 

It sounds like we might be related B)

 

And if not, then at the very least cut from the same Catholic, baseball-lovin' cloth!

[LuvToRead]

Instant replay is already used in some very limited cases when a home run is in question. I'm all for leaving it the way it is.

[Trish]

I think if they use replay, it should be used judiciously. Like in football, you get two per game, and if you use them up in a minor situation you can't use it later when you might really need it.

[sassenach]

This is one of the realities of baseball, the human factor. Sometimes a bad call goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. Ds's team suffered 2 really bad calls in their playoff game this year. It was somewhat consoling for him to see his beloved Giants suffer similarly that week.

 

I cannot imagine a game without a deep voice calling strikes and balls over the plate. It would be like a Dodgers game without Vin Scully announcing, Lord help me when he goes.

 

I say keep it old school.

 

[Happy]

If I understand correctly, Major league Hockey has a central room where a few specific referees gather to watch EVERY game via live feed. If a play needs to be reviewed they can do it immediately. There's no expense of flying them from game to game, no extra person to house and feed on the road. There are still referees on the ice, of course. The situation room is only used in case of a review. I'm like Bill, I like the human factor. Except for a few spectacular moments, the umps do a hard job very well. Oh and -- GO RANGERS! (We certainly need to get back going....sheesh...)

[Cricket]

I voted to leave it be.

 

Human error is part and parcel of the game; of any game, really. It doesn't really matter (to me) if it's on the part of the player, coach, manager, owner, or ump. It doesn't matter to me that there are crooked people involved at every level, because I believe they're the exceptions. I'm patently against exceptions dictating the rule. It annoys me.

 

I tell my sons the same thing when their games are affected by umpire error. Sometimes those errors run in their favor, and sometimes against - it all comes out in the wash, IME and IMO. Besides - it's rare to have one bad call in isolation. What might look like a single bad call (high and inside) could be consistent with how he's been calling them all night. In which case, it behooves the batter to pay attention and adjust his own approach to the ball.

 

It's like playing Scrabble with someone who keeps challenging your words. It takes a game and turns it into no-holds barred war. No thanks, I play and watch cames as a fun escape. If I want battles and challenges, I'll just watch my kids. Or Real Housewives.

 

Four of my sons are little league umps. It gave them a new appreciation and insight LOL.

 

ETA: I didn't like when MLB first decided to allow video replays, but this is about as far as I'd like to see them using it. I wouldn't want them to allow its use for anything more than they already do.

 

Totally agree! Having the human factor is part of the game. Leave baseball alone!

[Luanne]

If they leave it alone, then they need to evaluate the umpires and make sure they are not unfairly calling games to help teams (like the San Fran Giants). It isn't fair to the other teams to lose games merely because the umpires want the Giants to win. Something needs to be done about that.

[LucyStoner]

If they leave it alone, then they need to evaluate the umpires and make sure they are not unfairly calling games to help teams (like the San Fran Giants). It isn't fair to the other teams to lose games merely because the umpires want the Giants to win. Something needs to be done about that.

 

 

I don't think I that is what is commonly happening. At all. Most umps have their own, fairly consistent style of calling. The umpire crews are not based out of certain cities (they travel and do not call the same teams games all the time) and for big games the assignment process is pretty random and blind.

[MyThreeSons]

Of course the Giants won that game because the umpire did it all night long.

 

 

As a huge sports fan, it's been my experience that we all see the officials making calls that go against our team more than against the other team. For example, I'll end up watching a game that's in between games that my sons are playing, but I don't have any vested interest in. It is almost comical to listen to fans (and parents, especially) talk about how terrible the officiating is. And during the course of a particular game, both sides will be saying how the ump or ref is obviously biased.

 

Baseball is my favorite sport. The officiating gaffes are frustrating, but part of the game.

[MyThreeSons]

This is one of the realities of baseball, the human factor. Sometimes a bad call goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. Ds's team suffered 2 really bad calls in their playoff game this year. It was somewhat consoling for him to see his beloved Giants suffer similarly that week.

 

I cannot imagine a game without a deep voice calling strikes and balls over the plate. It would be like a Dodgers game without Vin Scully announcing, Lord help me when he goes.

 

I say keep it old school.

 

 

Whoa -- am I correct in inferring that you have a Giants fan and a Dodgers fan in the same house? That could get interesting.

 

(My three favorite teams are the Giants, whoever is playing the Dodgers, and whoever is playing the Yankees.)

[Mommy22alyns]

There seems to be a lot of bad calls this year, spread out over many teams, but often with the same umpire names coming up. CB Bucknor and Angel Hernandez are two of the biggest offenders, and Bud Selig seems to have no interest in holding these guys accountable.

[Luanne]

You can say whatever you want. I have watched the Rockies playing in San Fran. The umpire called pitches strikes when the Giant pitchers were up even if they were way inside or way too high. They did just the opposite when the Rockie pitchers were up. If you honestly think that umpires don't favor certain teams (maybe even receive some money on the side for it), you are very naive. I know it happens.

[sassenach]

 

 

Whoa -- am I correct in inferring that you have a Giants fan and a Dodgers fan in the same house? That could get interesting.

 

(My three favorite teams are the Giants, whoever is playing the Dodgers, and whoever is playing the Yankees.)

 

You are correct. Dh and I grew up in LA and are total Dodgers fans. We moved to NorCal when ds was 5. His first year of little league he was placed on the Giants, followed by the Giants World Series win. That's when we lost him! I will admit that I do cheer for the Giants whenever they're not playing the Dodgers.

[Spy Car]

Life-long Dodger fan here, but I too have always been fond of our "arch-rivals," the Giants.

 

Bill

[MyThreeSons]

You can say whatever you want. I have watched the Rockies playing in San Fran. The umpire called pitches strikes when the Giant pitchers were up even if they were way inside or way too high. They did just the opposite when the Rockie pitchers were up. If you honestly think that umpires don't favor certain teams (maybe even receive some money on the side for it), you are very naive. I know it happens.

 

Interesting fact: I googled to see what others had to say about the umpiring in the Rockies/Giants series, and there were folks agreeing that there were obviously blown calls by the umpires. Only some of these folks said that the calls were in the Rockies' favor -- against the Giants.

 

It just goes to prove my point several posts back: when you have a dog in the fight, you see things with a bias.

[Luanne]

Of course the Giant fans are going to say that. Do me a favor. If you don't believe me watch a Giant/Rockie game played in San Fran and see if you agree. You can also look up the recent games between the Padres and the Rockies and there are articles talking about the huge mistakes the umpires made in the Padres favor. I'm sorry but they make WAY too many mistakes for it to not be intentional.

[MyThreeSons]

Of course the Giant fans are going to say that.

 

EXACTLY!! That's my point.

 

It's hard for me to catch a Rockies game -- against anyone -- here on the East Coast, but I'll keep it in mind.

 

And how abut you do me a favor -- watch a game, any game that doesn't involve the Rockies. Try to stay impartial. Keep track of how many calls you think are bad, and tally them up at the end. It will be pretty close to even. It really will. And an impartial viewer of a Rockies game will find the same thing to be true.

 

Oh, and don't forget to keep track of how many calls they got right. The umpires' accuracy rate is very high overall.

[Dahliarw]

I would like to see replay for things like if a person was really safe our out at a base. But for pitching/batting? No.