Leyland speaks highly of instant replay

07/11/2008 8:50 PM ET
Leyland speaks highly of instant replay
Manager says proposed idea to review home run calls 'useful'
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Jim Leyland has long had the reputation of an old-school manager, but instant replay is one new idea he can get behind.

The question was raised Friday in regards to Justin Morneau's double on Thursday off the top of the right-field fence. As much debate as that play created, replays showed that the call was correct. Those calls, Leyland said, can be tough from a distance.

"In defense [of the umpires], it's amazing how good they are, to be honest," Leyland said. "They're good. It's amazing how good they are. I mean, we all do it, look at the replay after the game. I've looked at replays sometimes 10 times, and I still can't tell whether the guy's out or safe.

"I have the utmost respect for them, because you don't really realize how good they are."

One such example Leyland pointed to happened last Saturday at Seattle, when Mariners left fielder Raul Ibanez threw out Dane Sardinha at the plate.

"I [was sure] he was safe," Leyland said. "But when I finally got the one angle [on the replay], it looked to me like he was definitely out."

When asked about instant replay as a method for checking home run calls, Leyland indicated he was in favor of the proposal.

"I don't think it'll take long," Leyland said, "And I think something like that will be useful. That's a huge impact. I mean, some guy hits a three-run homer, a legitimate three-run homer, and you get nothing for it -- I think they should look at it. As long as you don't turn it into a fiasco, I think it's good. I don't have any problem with that."

Major League Baseball is looking into instituting replay as a way to review home run calls, which could happen on a trial basis in the Arizona Fall League. One published report suggested it could happen in the big leagues by season's end.

For all the publicity surrounding it, Leyland did note some irony in baseball pushing ahead with replay while simultaneously taking steps to speed up the pace of the game.

"It's all messed up, if you want to know the truth," Leyland said. "But I'm not sure there's anything they can do about it."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers give ins, outs of instant replay

August 24, 2008

Major League Baseball plans to implement instant replay before the end of the regular season, allowing umpires to review video to determine boundary calls on home runs, such as whether they cleared fences or went by the foul pole in fair territory. Some Tigers share their thoughts on instant replay with Free Press special writer Jon Machota:

Todd Jones: "I think it's good. I think it should just be home runs and fair or foul (balls) ... maybe some catches in the outfield. They'll probably never do balls and strikes, which is great. They need to do something on the home runs because it's too hard (to judge home runs). Each park is so different. You have to really know the ground rules of the park. ... Those umpires do a pretty darn good job, and they're humans and they make mistakes. I'd hate to be graded for the mistakes I've made."

Nate Robertson: "I just think that when you start tampering around with a game that, I don't feel like, has any flaws, I think part of baseball is human error and that's just the way it is. I'm guy that's not big on change. I don't like big changes, but I guess some people feel there needs to be, so whatever, that's just me. ... I've seen instances where there were home runs called that weren't and there's (hits that were) home runs that weren't called home runs. So, whatever, (it's) back and forth. That's just part of the game."

Gary Sheffield: "I have no problem with it. It's a situation in the last couple of (months) a lot of balls could have went either way. I'm sure that they reviewed it and probably missed a call or whatever, so they feel like they're more compelled to do it now that a lot of calls have been missed. But as long as this game has been in existence, it's always been a judgmental call. And you would think that the ethics of the game or the umpires are going to come in and make the right call. But a lot of times they never get together and just say what they really saw. They go with the majority, and a lot of times that gets you in trouble, and I think that led to this."

Curtis Granderson: "You look at, say college football and even NFL, it started out where college football didn't have instant replay a few years ago and now they challenge almost everything. And same thing in the NFL, I thought that when they originally put the rule in play that it was only a play that can be overturned, but it seems like that flag comes out on any play that can go the other way, and if not the refs join up and they go look at the play. Once you start, it's going to be hard to stop it. ... If you do do the instant replay, I think it's got to be quick. Boom, put it up right away so we can make a decision, let's not wait 5-10 minutes because the game's already slow enough as it is."

Kenny Rogers: "I don't care for any of it. Just because I don't care for the QuesTech (that calculates balls and strikes) either. ... I think one thing that is really good about baseball is the umpire's personal influence in the game. Those are the things we're going to start lacking here. We're going to start making it such a cookie-cutter of a league. I like the input from umpires. ... Everybody makes mistakes once in a while. It doesn't mean they're bad, that's part of the game that I think you need to hang on to. You start trying to change certain aspects of it, and I think we'll bland the game out."

Jim Leyland: "I don't get into that stuff. This is the human element of the game, and I don't know anything about it, and I'm not going to discuss it. Whatever they decide to do is fine. If a guy hits a home run, he should get a home run."

Quote :

Jim Leyland: "I don't get into that stuff.
This is the human element of the game, and I don't know anything about
it, and I'm not going to discuss it. Whatever they decide to do is
fine. If a guy hits a home run, he should get a home run."

Typical Leyland! "I don't know"..."I don't care"... Don't understand" ... how many times have we heard this from him.