Toni Dockter: Filosophy with a Fuchsia Flair

I’m not talking about a “No smashing into a catcher like a runaway B&O Railroad locomotive.” That rule change would not be needed on a daily basis.

I’m talking about a more pervasive activity on the ball field: Bad calls by the umpires. MLB needs an “Instant Replay Correction Rule.” Sorry, umps, but you guys get it wrong too many times. And that can have disastrous consequences.

I once heard a MLB umpire talking about being heckled by the fans. He said his favorite jeer was: “Hey, ump, why don’t you turn around and bend over and call the play WITH YOUR GOOD EYE!”

Let the slow-mo TV camera be the umpires’ “good eye.”

A perfect example of why this is badly needed is last night’s San Francisco Giants game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. The game was played in Arizona with the Giants one-half game ahead of the Dbacks in the NL West. A loss by the Giants would put the DBacks one-half game ahead with two more in the series.

More importantly, a Giants loss gives the Dbacks the mental edge—a definite advantage in the psychic side of sports.

In the ninth inning the Giants were winning 5-6 (after being ahead 5-0—typical Giants torture). The Giants bring in their super-duper closer, Mr. “Fear the Beard” Brian Wilson.

And speaking of the psychic side of sports, who know what goes on in that guy’s M.C. Escher painting kind of mind.

Wilson goes 3-2 with the first batter; then walks him. Ditto for the second batter. Geez, Brian, get a grip!

He gets a grip. Or maybe he had a grip the whole time and he’s just jerking everyone’s chain. (You never know.) The following two batters get out.

With the next batter, Wilson throws a wild pitch over the catcher’s head. It ricochets against the backstop and rolls back to the catcher, who throws it to third base as the runner advances from second base.

The third baseman tags out the runner. But the umpire calls him safe!

The game should have been over then.

Now Wilson has to try again. This could be a really dicey situation.

Pitchers handle bad calls differently. In general, if it were Baumgarner, he would implode. If it were Sanchez, he would space out. If it were Lincecum, he’d get angrily focused.

You never know about Brian Wilson. But he strikes out the batter. Game over. Giants win 6-5. Whew!

So what’s the big deal about the ump’s missed call at third base? What’s the big deal if the Giants lost the game to the DBacks? PLENTY!

Everyone knows one game can make all the difference in the world. It can make the difference between going to the playoffs or not.

And everyone knows that today MLB is ALL ABOUT the MONEY. Baseball is a business first. It’s entertainment second. And the nation’s pastime and cool game third. (That’s why PEDs were tolerated so long—because of #1 and #2.)

Why don’t the Owners demand instant replay to ensure that all games are called correctly? If your team misses the playoffs due to lousy calls, the Owners are missing a boatload of MONEY.

Are the Owners afraid of the umpire union? Do they fear bad-call retaliation if they even mention the need to get accurate and consistent umpiring?

Baseball should be played fairly. Each call matters. Since humans are involved in the calls, they can—and do—get it wrong. (And am I wrong in saying that the umpiring is getting worse season by season?)

MLB needs a rule change: Instant replay on questionable calls. It’s what best for baseball.

Photo of the 9^th inning controversial call:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/n/a/2011/06/14/sports/s232140D44.DTL&object=

 

The unflappable and mentally-interesting Brian Wilson after the game:

 

And speaking of Mr. Lincecum: Happy 27th Birthday, Timmy!