It feels like Major League Baseball umps have been really bad lately so one would think that using instant replay to get calls correct would fix things, right?
Yeah, keep dreaming.
Time and again we’ve seen bad calls get made on the field and then we’ve seen those bad calls somehow get upheld after lengthy reviews that not only show the call was wrong but also slow down the game.
That happened last night in the Mets-Orioles game when a play at first was reviewed. The Mets clearly turned a double play but the first base ump ruled that the runner beat the throw. The replay didn’t show that, however, but the call somehow stood.
Mets announcer Gary Cohen calmly crushed MLB about the length of replays and how they kill the pace of play and then once the call was upheld he tore into MLB even more, saying:
“And they call him safe, after all of that? They take so much time and they get it wrong. I just don’t understand. How can that be? What is the point of having review if they don’t even get the calls right? It’s pathetic. It’s just pathetic. Just take the whole system and throw it in the garbage.”
The video, which closed with Cohen saying, “It’s a joke. It’s a total and utter joke,” was beautiful but sadly SNY, the TV home of the Mets, took it down this afternoon, which is so lame. Cohen stayed calm throughout his ripping of MLB, which made it all so great. I’m guessing MLB didn’t like that, though.
Fans loved Cohen ripping the league and they also agreed with him on the bad call: