NewsGMs pass on lobbying for more replay
Officials meeting in Chicago leave topic to Commissioner
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com
11/10/09 5:17 PM EST
CHICAGO -- Expansion of instant replay, a topic many thought would be the focal point Tuesday of the General Managers' Meetings in Chicago, for now at least, has turned out to be a non-issue.Major League Baseball's general managers did not propose or vote on an expansion of the league's replay system at the first session of this year's GM Meetings, which conclude Wednesday.
Commissioner Bud Selig had said on several occasions during the World Series that he was not in favor of expanding a system that had been implemented late in the 2008 season to help determine boundary calls on homers -- fair or foul, in or out. "It all lies with the Commissioner right now," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations, who sat in on the meeting. "He'll have to make the determination about whether he wants to start discussions on that. I know some [GMs] have talked off-line about the expansion of instant replay, but the Commissioner doesn't see any reason to consider it." The topic rose to the fore during the first two rounds of the playoffs, when umpires publicly admitted they had missed calls on at least three occasions. "You've got to understand, we just put in instant replay in 2008," Solomon said. "We only have now a season and a couple of months' experience with it. Now there are those who clamor for more and more instant replay. I think we have to digest what we've got. We've got to look at this technology and look at where we are as a sport. "The Commissioner is going to talk to a lot of people in a lot of different disciplines before he makes a decision that impacts and changes our sport. He's been very methodical about making those types of decisions and he will continue to do so." Although there is a significant divergence of opinion among GMs about expanding the system to other close calls, no voice was given to that at the meeting. Instead, a report on the current system was the only mention of the topic. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he's in favor of expanding replay. "I'm big on technology," Cashman said. "I'm open to any way we can help the umpires. We want what the umpires want -- to get the calls right. If the Commissioner's Office and the umps' union decides we already have the best format, then this is the best format. If there's a better way, we'll discuss it and pursue it, and we'll leave it in their hands." Mets GM Omar Minaya offered the opposing point of view. "I don't want to say that I'm a 'traditionalist,' because I'm in favor of it the way it is," Minaya said. "But if you keep expanding it, it gets into areas where I'm not comfortable. Look, umpires are going to make bad calls. I just don't want to get too much into other plays. I'm happy with the way it is right now." Two years ago, the general managers gathered in Orlando and asked the MLB committee that oversees umpires to explore the use of replay on a limited basis. Although no vote was taken on the issue, the GMs asked the committee to come back with recommendations. That process took nearly a year and half before the recommendation to use replay on home run calls only was accepted by Selig, ratified by the umpires' union and approved by the owners. MLB then put monitors accessible to the umpires in each ballpark and established a central location to review replays at the MLB Advanced Media offices in New York. To expand replay, the same process would have to be followed, and the idea hasn't exactly sprinted out of the gate.Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
