Yankee Stadium Will Be Used To Test New Expanded Replay System This Year

You did not read that title wrong. Expanded replay. What I, and many many fans, have wanted for some time now. Starting this month, MLB will begin installing two new, experimental replay systems in Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. ESPN states that Yankee Stadium will get a radar based system, similar to one used in golf, to track where balls land. Citi Field will utilize the same Hawkeye Innovations tech that is used in Tennis currently to make sure whether balls are in or out.

According to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who I cannot find a reason to insult in this post yet, the new systems will be used to determine whether balls are fair or foul as well as whether a ball is caught or simply trapped by the fielder. Makes perfect sense to me. I watch very little golf and have no idea how that system works. I watch a lot of Tennis and I love the Hawkeye system due to how fast it is. The purpose of these tests is to see if one of these systems can be utilized in baseball and how fast it works. If it works the same way as it does in Tennis, there should be no problem.

They will also be tested during the Arizona fall league, with the results presented to the owners sometime in November. Probably around Thanksgiving, since many fans will either be giving thanks for the effort or bickering with other family members about it over mashed potatoes and turkey. Selig says that he hopes to have one of these systems up and running by next season. Judging by his rush to get the second wildcard operational by this season, I do not doubt him.

I think this is a step in the right direction. As long as one of the experiments are proven to be fast and accurate I cannot see why people would complain. It takes nothing away from Tennis. It makes the sport a little bit fairer for everyone on the field. It speeds up the game by keeping managers from coming out and arguing sometimes blatantly wrong calls. The human element of the game will still be there with balls/strikes and safe/out calls at bases. Here's hoping one of the two systems works out.