Commissioner Bud Selig made the announcement Thursday that Major League Baseball is looking to expand the use of its instant replay system. Currently the system is only available for disputed home runs. The new system will involve giving managers the ability to challenge calls similar to the NFL’s replay challenge system.
Selig made the announcement after meeting with a special replay committee made up of representatives from all 30 Major League teams. While the rule change requires a 75% vote of baseball’s owners in November, along with approval from the players association and the umpires, it is widely expected that the rule change will pass.
“I’m proud of them,” Selig said about the replay committee. “It’s worked out remarkably well. It’s historic. There’s no question about it.”
The news was met with enthusiasm throughout major league ballparks, with various managers, executives, owners, players and umpires.
The system was described in some detail. Managers will be allowed one challenge over the first six innings of a game and two from the seventh inning until the completion of the game. Calls that are challenged will be reviewed by a crew in MLB headquarters in New York City, which will make a final ruling based on reviewing video of the incident. Unused challenges will not carry over, but Manages who win their challenges will retain them.
The system will begin in the 2014 playoffs, and will be expanded to regular season play for the 2015 season.
It is believed that their will be a list of reviewable calls, but it has not yet been released. Balls and strikes are not expected to be on the list of what can be reviewed.
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