The Kansas City Royals were winners of seven West Division Titles, two American League pennants and had made five out of the last 10 Championship Series’ going into 1985 and were still searching for that first World Series title.
October 26, 1985 brought game six of the World Series to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. There, the Royals were down 1-0 going into the ninth inning, trailing the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in the series. It looked like the Royals were about to drop another chance to bring home the title until a little luck came their way.
After fielding a routine ground ball from Jorge Orta, first baseman Jack Clark flipped the ball to the pitcher Todd Worrell who was racing to the bag. Worrell stepped on first base just before Orta did. It was a close play, but everyone could see Orta was out. Even the replay on T.V. showed he was out.
However, first base umpire Don Denkinger still called Orta safe. The Royals went on to win game six with a walk-off double, three hitters later.
Kansas City took game seven, but Denkinger took game six from the Cardinals.
The human element affected the outcome of the game, but instant replay could’ve avoided the missed call. While human error has always been an understood part of baseball, technology has advanced to where it doesn’t have to come down to that anymore. So many people have so much invested in the game that it should be as perfect as it can be without disturbing the flow of the game. Instant replay should now be a part of the game, but it should come with restrictions.
The instant replay issue has heated up after a slew of blown calls in the 2009 postseason. It was so bad that some umpires actually lost their World Series spot because of bad calls. Most notably, CB Bucknor who missed two calls in round one of the division series wasn’t added to the crew.
It was the first time in 25 years that there wasn’t an umpire working his first World Series on the staff. Bucknor, if added, would have been that first-year guy.
Having an experienced crew doesn’t always help. Tim McClelland, who has been a major league umpire since 1983 and is viewed as one of baseball’s best, missed three calls in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), two in one game.
“I’m just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can,” McClelland told reporters after game four of the ALCS. “And, unfortunately, there was, by instant replay, two missed calls.”
Had there been instant replay, there would be no need for apologies or explanations.
As simple as just throwing instant replay into the game sounds, it’s really not that easy. Major League Baseball has to have a strict system in place to meet the needs of both players and fans.
Before every Baltimore Orioles game, every media member writes down what they think the length of the game will be and the press box assistants keep track all year; winner gets nothing but bragging rights. But, they do this because they love a short game. To most, that’s the only reason they oppose instant replay into baseball.
“I think the games last long enough without bogging them down with more replay options. Fair or foul, home run or not, are important calls and wouldn’t come into play multiple times every game,” said Roch Kubatko, the Orioles beat writer for MASNsports.com. “We can’t say the same about whether a player is safe or out on the base paths.”
How can a speedy replay system be implemented?
Phil Wood, who holds the title of baseball historian and was once an official scorer for the Orioles, has what sounds like a simple plan to address this, a fifth umpire.
Well, the World Series uses a six-man staff. How could a five-man staff help?
“If you’re going to have replay then I think you need a fifth umpire who works in the press box or in the production truck where he has access to every replay angle instantaneously,” said Wood. “I think if you have a fifth umpire with the access there, to see every angle, a decision could be made in 30 seconds, or no more than 60 seconds.”
This is the most logical option. It wouldn’t slow the game down and it will make the game more accurate. However, there should be a set number of specific situations in which replay could be used.
Homerun calls are already allowed.
That needs to stay because that can play a major part of the game. Also, both Phil Wood and Roch Kubatko agree that fair and foul calls should be added, and if a ball is caught cleanly or trapped.
Phil Wood thinks it should also be extended for safe or out calls as well.
“To use it [instant replay] just for boundary calls doesn’t take advantage of the technology at hand,” said Wood.
Other than that, the opinion stays the same that to use replay for balls or strikes is a bad idea.
Homeruns, safe or out, fair or foul and whether it is a catch seems like a lot, especially since at least one of those scenarios happen on almost every play. This is where Major League baseball can follow the National Football League’s (NFL) model.
“They shouldn’t just enact it when they feel like it. They should use a challenge system like they do in the NFL,” said Kevin Hess, the assistant sports editor for the Towerlight. “Teams should have certain amount of calls they can challenge.”
Some fans and players like the human element of the game. They like the fact that an umpire could mess up and help their team. “It’s just a part of the game” is a phrase you hear often after a blown call. They don’t like that adding replay can be messing with tradition.
What most fans don’t know is that replay already plays a major role in the history of the game and how it is recorded.
While he was an official MLB scorer, Wood was given a letter from the league encouraging him to use the instant replay shown in the press box. He received this letter 18 years ago and part of it read, “If you have access to instant replay, please use it because we want to get the calls right.”
Shouldn’t the league want all the calls to be correct on the field? It seems like getting calls wrong on the field would affect the history of the game more than on the scorecard.
“In the booth the official scorers are using instant replay to determine whether to determine if somebody has got a base hit or made an error. I just think if you can use it at that level to record the history of the game you ought to be able to use it for just about anything else,” said Wood.
Days before instant replay was implemented for homeruns, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN reported that, “the idea of instant replay was presented to major league general managers 15 years ago. The vote was 27-1 against, then went to 29-1 when the Rays and Diamondbacks joined the major leagues in 1998. A few years later, the vote went to 27-5 against, then 15-15.”
The idea of instant replay is getting more appealing now to major league organizations, especially after this postseason. It is uncertain how the umpires feel about it though.
The World Umpires Association, which provides all of Major League Baseball’s umpires, chose not to comment on the matter. Even after replay first entered baseball, umpires were told not to comment on the situation.
Instant replay also would need to be approved by Major League Baseball, the World Umpires Association and the Players Union before it could be used in a major league game. Just like when replay first came around the decision process will be a long one.
It has to be done in order to put a fair product on the field. Another World Series can’t turn into a question mark.
The Cardinals deserve to go back to that ninth inning in 1985, with one out and no one on first. They played through the long season just like the Royals did.
It’s hard enough to beat the other team and to have to face the umpires too. Baseball is America’s pastime. America has technologically advanced; it’s time for baseball to do the same.
