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Instant Replay

Starting Thursday, August 28, 2008, Major League Baseball umpires will be allowed to check video on home run calls, ending decades of opposition towards instant replay in America’s most traditional sport. It is highly unusual for any sport, especially baseball, to introduce a major change in how the game is played. Even more unusual is that this change is being implemented in the middle of the season. However the introduction of instant replay with baseball is not only a good idea, but a great idea at this stage in the game.   According to Celizic (2008), when you see over the course of one week three home runs disallowed by umpires whose eyes may not have been good enough to decipher weather the ball was fair or foul, well I think its time to use our technology to make the game better. We would be foolish not to utilize the technology we have today to improve the game of baseball.
          With an unusual number of missed calls this year over home runs, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had to make a change. With the post season only one month away you cannot take any chances. Fans have seen a plethora of controversial home run calls this season. These calls are due to umpires not seeing clearly due to a bad angle, fan interference, or a ball that is just too far away. With some home runs, the umpires are 200 feet from where the ball clears the fence. Now if there continues to be no instant replay in baseball to correct these controversial calls, there will be a huge outcry as to why that is not the case. With the August 28th implementation of instant replay, MLB has a month to get out all the kinks during this trial and error period. However come playoff time we will not have to worry about a team missing out on the World Series due to a controversial home run call.
          Some people think instant replay will extend the game of baseball by drawing out the innings, making them long and boring. You can say this, however what about instant replay...