yankees_twins2After the controversial call in the Yankees-Twins game last night, there is a whole new round of debate about the use of instant replay in Major League Baseball.

Buster Olney supports an expanded replay system. It’s behind the dreaded Insider wall, but he does indeed think baseball should get more tech-savvy.

Well, Major League Baseball could simply expand the list of reviewable plays. Out or safe calls on the bases. Tag plays. Fair- and foul-ball plays. Plays that stem from situations around home plate — a question about whether a batter was hit by a pitch, whether there was catcher’s interference when a batter swings, whether a catcher gloved a foul tip before it hit the ground.

Olney isn’t alone on this one. Yahoo!’s Dan Wetzel tweets they’ll get it eventually.

“Baseball always last on change. Race, roids, expanded postseason. Replay is latest, they’ll do it eventually”

The internet is long on people asking for instant replay after the blown call in the 11th last night. From The Biz of Baseball:

Cuzzi’s blown call outlines the need for MLB to expand its use of instant replay for line calls – those balls that are on the edge of being fair or foul. MLB already uses boundary calls for homeruns, so the move to line calls isn’t earth shattering. Commissioner Selig, you need to make it happen.

USA Today’s Mike Lopresti is also in the Pro-Replay Camp.

tweaking seems in order. Not for the bang-bang plays at first, but at least fair-or-foul calls – such as the one Cuzzi missed. That’s like asking whether a receiver’s foot is inbounds or out. Or a jump shooter’s toe is over the three-point line. Or a first service is good.

Football, basketball and tennis all use replay in that situation. They spare themselves Friday night’s embarrassment.

But that debate comes later. For the immediate future, the issue is as plain as Mauer’s double.

The umpires need to do better.

That’s agreeable enough. Joe Browne, the NFL’s EVP of Communications and Public Affairs had this to tweet:

“I admit i am watching yanks-twins and thinking how good our officiating really is.”

When the NFL is bragging about their officials, you know you’re in bad shape.

Should MLB expand replay? Obviously it won’t be a fix-all. And that’s the argument against replay. Baseball is a game played by humans and officiated by humans. Umpires will still miss ball and strike calls. Anything that can’t be reviewed can and will be mucked up. The NFL has a good replay system, but there are plenty of flaws. Some plays can’t be reviewed. On top of that, reviews take way too long. LeBron knows we don’t need to make baseball games any longer. (In the future, first round playoff games on the West Coast will end around 2pm the next day.)

This is all true. However… Just because officiating in sports will never be perfect doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to make the officiating better. Major League Baseball should expand their replay system. Even if it means getting a call right that goes against the Yankees in the Playoffs. Sometimes you have to hurt the one you love.