Baltimore Orioles: Is instant replay worth the while?

The Baltimore Orioles lost two key replay challenges involving Matt Wieters last night. Is the system working?

The Baltimore Orioles and Matt Wieters fell 3-1 to Colorado last night, losing only their second series at home. Let me be clear; the Orioles’ offense squandered too many opportunities. Now as I’ve said the past two days, Colorado seems to match up well against the O’s for whatever reason. However in games of inches, it seems that the spoils went to the victors.

Dylan Bundy, although the loser last night, was electrifying. Bundy took a perfect game into the sixth inning, retiring the first 16 hitters. Bundy’s line: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Many folks were critical of Buck Showalter for leaving Bundy in as long as they did – hindsight is 20/20. But you don’t lift a guy pithing a perfect game after five innings.

Colorado did their damage in that sixth inning, with a two-run homer by Hundley, and a solo shot by Dahl. (For what it’s worth, Dahl’s homer was the first of his career.) The Birds made a comeback attempt in the last of that sixth inning as Manny Machado smacked a solo homer as well. But it wasn’t to be, and the Birds fell 3-1.

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There were several calls involving instant replay that went against the Orioles in this game. For starters, Wieters hit what appeared to be a solo home run in the last of the third. As has been the case several times this year for whatever reason, the ball sailed over the foul pole and onto Eutaw St. Replays seemed conclusive enough to the point that it appeared the ball would have hit the pole – had it been higher. Yet the original call of foul stood.

In the last of the seventh Wieters appeared to stretch a single into a double. However this time Colorado challenged the call – and it was overturned. The Orioles didn’t demonstratively argue the call by any means, but MASN cameras caught Buck Showalter in the dugout just shaking his head. At best, the call at second base was inconclusive. Apparently the umpiring crew saw it differently.

To add insult to injury, Colorado challenged another call at first base in the ninth, thinking that Gonzalez should be awarded an infield hit. The umpires saw things similarly, and once again Buck Showalter shook his head from the dugout. Showalter wasn’t overly angry about the inconsistencies after the game, although he did say he felt some of those calls should have gone the Orioles’ way (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

"I thought it was a home run. I think everybody felt like it was a home run. I actually thought the guy was out at first, but they overturned that one, too. I was really surprised at that one. He didn’t beat the play. At the very best, he tied the play, which is not beating the play. I was surprised they overturned that, and I was surprised that they didn’t have a quick home run call on that one.I’m not real sure what they’re looking at. We got a real good definitive shot that it’s a home run. Sometimes you’re kind of stuck with what the original call was, even though you know in your heart that it was wrong."

I always have been and always will be a proponent of instant replay. Having the opportunity to look further at a play and ultimately get a call right is something that should always be welcome in sports. However Showalter’s comment about not knowing what they’re looking at is somewhat telling. Do we really have an idea of what umpires are seeing, and how they’re coming to their decisions?

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I’m not going to sit here and suggest that there’s any sort of bias against one team or player, or a bias in favor of another. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. But using the Wieters non-homer as an example, when something is that conclusive (to the public), how can the call still be blown? It’s simple enough from the umpires’ perspective; all they have to do is say the call was inconclusive in their minds and that’s the end of the story.

I once met a referee on the field at an NFL game, and I asked him if it was true that they saw different angles of the plays under the hood on the instant replay machines – which is what I had always heard. The guy kind of chuckled and he told me that the FOX/CBS logo was on the screen when they looked at the replays. In other words, they were seeing the same replays we see on television. So is MLB similar? Are the umps in NY getting the feeds off of the team broadcasts? If so, which one are they looking at, and are they looking at both?

I’m not necessarily saying there’s a bias. But when a team falls victim to three very close calls going against them after reviews…that can change the course of a game. If you want to say something’s inconclusive so you aren’t changing it, that’s one thing. But to look at a play that appears inconclusive – and as a result give the benefit of the doubt the other way and change it? Interesting, to say the least.

Next: Baltimore Orioles: Chris Tillman loses only his third game

The O’s will now head to Minnesota for a one-game “series,” which is a makeup game from earlier this year. The Birds are giving Ubaldo Jimenez a start out of the bullpen, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

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