Replay as an Umpiring Tool

 

In 1955, a producer on Canadian television used a kinescope to show a replay during a Hockey Night in Canada telecast, the first time anyone had shown a play a second time on television. In the early 1960s, a director for CBS Sports invented a replay system using video tape that could be played immediately, unlike the kinescope. Tony Verna’s invention, first used in the 1963 Army-Navy football game, has grown in scope and capability and has become one of the fundamental technologies in modern-day sports television.

This capability has crossed over into the world of sports officiating. As televised sports grew in popularity and capability, fans became more concerned with the accuracy of officials. The National Football League first used an “instant replay” system in 1986, allowing officials to review a play immediately after it occurred. The NFL’s current system was instituted in 1999. The National Hockey League started using replay in 1991 with an off-ice official in the building. The system was centralized in 2003 with a crew watching every game from Toronto. Those replay officials discuss certain plays with the referee at the arena via telephone. The National Basketball Association started using a replay system in 2002.

Major League Baseball was slow to embrace the technology. As televised games became more popular and production companies expanded their camera coverage, fans got to see new and unfamiliar angles. This included a camera slightly offset in center field and the later addition of a strike zone outline. Fans could then judge the accuracy of an umpire’s balls and strikes calls, although the box on the screen did not correctly show the zone. This technology later led to a series of systems used by MLB to judge an umpire’s work behind the plate.

It was only after a series of questioned calls in a ten-day period during the 2008 season that MLB officials put a system in place to review home runs. The review system, instituted on August 28, 2008, could only be used to answer one of the following three questions:

• Was the potential home run fair or foul?
• Did a fan interfere with a potential home run?
• Did a potential home run go over the fence?

The decision to use the new replay system could only be made by the umpire crew chief, who was also the person who determined whether or not a call should be reversed. All games are monitored at a central location in New York by a technician and an umpire (either a retired umpire or an umpire supervisor). A television monitor and phone were provided in each ballpark for the crew chief’s use. The chief was required to check the equipment before the game by calling the technician who would send video to that monitor.

If the crew chief decided to review a play, he would speak with the technician. The umpire supervisor would not talk with the umpires at the game. One umpire always remains on the field while the others watch the replay. The chief would only reverse a call if there was clear and convincing evidence that the ruling on the field was incorrect.

Once the crew chief made a determination and announced it to the teams, neither team was allowed to argue the decision. Any such argument was grounds for ejection. Also, no one can request that the umpires review the call. Managers do ask about certain rulings and as they have done in the past but it is up to the chief to make the determination to actually watch the replay.

If a home run ruling is reversed to a ball in play, the crew chief must place runners where he believed they would have been had the call been made properly on the field.

Table 1 shows the yearly totals of review system usage. Since the implementation, about 33% of calls reviewed have been overturned. Table 2 shows the breakdown of calls by one of the three types allowed. Most calls that have been reviewed are to see if the ball went over the fence. The fair or foul reviews have been overturned about 33% of the time whereas the “over the fence” type has been overturned about 38% of the time.

Most of the new ballparks have seats that allow fans to reach over the fence and possibly interfere with a ball in play. Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, AT&T Park in San Francisco and PNC Park in Pittsburgh are often quoted by umpires as particularly bad in this regard. The Trop also has a roof that makes tracking the ball difficult for players and umpires. Fenway Park in Boston (the oldest park in the majors) has many quirky configurations that keep umpires on their toes. The configuration of the relatively new Monster Seats above the left-field wall in Boston causes a lot of balls to carom back onto the field after flying over the top of the wall. This is a tough call for an umpire 37 feet lower than the top of the wall and a long distance from the wall. In Houston, Minute Maid Park has lots of lines in left-center field that can cause issues with rulings and Citi Field in New York has a set of painted lines on the outfield walls that cause issues for umpires when trying to decide where the ball struck the wall in relation to those lines.

The ballparks with the most replay uses are shown in Table 3. It is no surprise that most of the parks at the top of this list are the ones noted in the above paragraph. Table 4 shows the other end of this spectrum: the parks with the fewest uses of the replay system. The Marlins moved into the new stadium, Marlins Park, in 2012. There were six usages of the replay system in their former home and four through 2013 in the new home. Those parks are not listed in the chart.

The first use of the new system occurred on September 3, 2008, six days after it was put in place.1 The Yankees were playing the Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. With one runner on base in the top of the ninth inning, Alex Rodriguez hit a ball down the left-field line that cleared the wall just inside the pole but much higher than the top of the pole. After the ball was ruled fair by third-base umpire Brian Runge, Rays manager Joe Maddon came onto the field to ask about the call. Crew chief Charlie Reliford watched the replay and upheld the call.

Sixteen days later, the Twins were at The Trop. In the bottom of the fourth, Carlos Pena hit a fly ball to right-center field that was touched by a fan. The ball was ruled in play but crew chief Gerry Davis watched the replay and overturned the call to a three-run homer. This was the first time a call was reversed using the new system.

On September 26, 2008, the Dodgers were playing at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Bengie Molina batted in the bottom of the sixth frame and swatted a fly ball down the right-field line. The ball struck at the top of the wall a few feet to the left of the “Splash Hits” sign and was ruled in play. Giants manager Bruce Bochy had told Emmanuel Burriss to pinch run for Molina if he reached base, so Burriss ran onto the field and replaced Molina at first base. In the dugout, Omar Vizquel told Bochy that the ball struck the green metal roof on top of the wall, which is out of play and a homer. Vizquel handed Bochy the ball, which had green paint on it. Bochy showed the ball to crew chief Tim Welke and asked about the call. After a brief huddle with the other umpires, Welke watched the replay and reversed the call to a home run. Burriss (remember him — the pinch runner?) ran the bases from first to home to score the run on Molina’s homer (remember him — the batter?). Bochy wanted the umpires to allow Molina back into the game and when they refused, Bochy protested the contest. Molina was credited with a home run and two runs batted in but no run scored since Burriss scored the run. When Burriss returned to the dugout with a big smile on his face, Molina greeted him by saying “Good swing!” The total delay was 12 minutes, including time discussing the pinch-runner situation. The Giants won the contest, 6-5, so the protest was not heard.

The first time a ball was ruled a home run on the field but overturned by replay occurred on May 13, 2009 in Pittsburgh. In the bottom of the first inning, Adam LaRoche hit a fly ball to right that struck either a railing or a screen above the 21-foot wall. Either object is in play but the ball was ruled a home run. LaRoche stopped at second base on the play but then went on to score on the initial call. Crew chief Randy Marsh watched the replay and put LaRoche back on second.

On June 19, 2009, the Brewers played the Tigers in Detroit, and, for the first time, two calls were reviewed in the same game. In the bottom of the third inning, Miguel Cabrera’s hit went over the top of the fence, hit the roof of the bullpen dugout, and came back on the field. It was ruled in play but the Tigers argued the call so crew chief Dale Scott looked at the replay and overturned the call to a home run. Dusty Ryan’s line drive down the left-field line in the bottom of the fourth was ruled a home run. Brewers manager Ken Macha objected to the call, so Scott watched the replay and reversed the call to in-play, awarding Ryan a double. Two calls were reviewed and both were changed, one to a home run and the other from a home run to a ball in play.

Through the 2013 season eight games have had more than one play reviewed. Three of those were at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (7/11/2010, 5/5/2013, and 8/4/2013) and two of them at Citi Field in New York (9/22/2012 and 8/4/2013). All six calls in Philadelphia involved possible fan interference or whether the ball cleared the fence.

The Diamondbacks were in San Francisco on September 29, 2009. In the top of the fourth inning, immediately after a home run by Miguel Montero, Ryan Roberts hit a fly ball to left that Andres Torres jumped for and caught over the top of the wall. The ball flew up out of the glove as Torres started back to the ground, hit the top of the wall and bounced back onto the field, where Torres, while lying on the ground, caught it. Since the ball did not go over the fence, it was still in play. Since it hit the fence it was not a catch. The play was ruled a homer but crew chief Dana DeMuth watched the replay and overturned it to a double.

On October 31, 2009, the replay system was used for the first time in postseason play. In the top of the fourth inning of Game Three of the World Series, Alex Rodriguez hit a fly ball down the right-field line just inside the pole. The ball struck a television camera and was called in play by RF umpire Jeff Nelson. Yankees manager Joe Girardi asked about the call, so crew chief Gerry Davis and three of the other five umpires watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. Thus, ARod was the batter for the first usage of replay and the first usage in postseason.

The Nationals visited Citi Field in New York on April 11, 2010. In the top of the first, Josh Willingham hit a fly ball to center field that struck the wall just to the right of the vertical line indicating a home run. The ball was called in play and three runs scored on the triple. The third runner, Adam Dunn, ran over the Mets catcher, Rod Barajas, and the ball rolled towards the backstop. Willingham tried to score on the misplay but was tagged out by Barajas. The umpires huddled on the field and then crew chief Derryl Cousins watched the replay and overturned the call to a grand slam home run, thus negating the out call at the plate on Willingham.

The Minnesota Twins opened a new ballpark, Target Field, on April 12, 2010. In that first game, Mike Cameron of the Red Sox hit a fly ball down the left-field line that went between the pole and the limestone facing of the stands. It was ruled a foul ball by umpire Kerwin Danley. Red Sox manager Terry Francona asked about the ruling, so crew chief Tim Tschida looked at the replay and upheld the call. The gap between the pole and the wall is very narrow.

In the top of the ninth inning in Cleveland on August 6, 2010, pinch-hitter Jim Thome’s fly hit the yellow stripe at the top of the left-center-field wall and caromed back onto the field. It was ruled in play but the Twins thought it was a home run. Crew chief Gerry Davis watched the replay and upheld the call. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire came on the field after the review and argued violently the about the ruling. Gardenhire was ejected by Davis, the first time someone was tossed objecting a replay decision. A complete list of all people ejected for arguing a replay decision is shown later in this article.

On August 29, 2010, the Marlins played in Atlanta. In the bottom of the ninth with two out and the score tied at six, Braves catcher Brian McCann hit a fly ball to right that hit over the top of the barrier wall, bounced off the back wall, and landed on the field. It was ruled in play but the Braves had started on the field to celebrate the victory. The umpires huddled then crew chief Tim McClelland watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. It was the first game-ending homer reviewed.

On August 1, 2011, the Indians visited Boston. In the top of the eighth, Asdrubal Cabrera’s fly ball hit what appeared to be the top of the wall just inside the right-field pole and rebounded onto the field. It was ruled in play but the umpires huddled. Crew chief Gerry Davis watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. The ball had struck a fan in the front row and Davis changed the call when he saw the woman react to being hit. She had a large mark on her thigh later and the stitches of the ball were clearly visible in the bruise.

In the bottom of the third in Kansas City on August 17, 2011, Billy Butler’s fly ball hit the top of the padding and caromed back onto the field. It was ruled a home run but Yankees manager Joe Girardi asked about the call. Crew chief Dana DeMuth watched the replay and upheld the call. The Yankees were upset by this. Mariano Rivera yelled from the dugout and was told to stop by plate umpire Chad Fairchild. When Rivera continued, coaches moved him away. Girardi went out to talk with DeMuth, insisting that the ground rule made this a ball in play. After the game, the four umpires were on the warning track with umpire supervisor Steve Palermo reviewing the ground rule.

On September 4, 2011, the Phillies were playing the Marlins in Florida. In the top of the sixth, Hunter Pence hit a fly ball to right, where Bryan Petersen made a leaping attempt to catch the ball. His glove was above the yellow stripe at the top of the wall but a fan reached over the wall with a Phillies cap and touched the ball. The ball was ruled in play, with Pence reaching second and Ryan Howard running from first to third. Both managers came out of the dugout. The umpires huddled and crew chief Joe West watched the replay and overturned the call to fan interference. Pence was called out and Howard returned to first base. The ball might have cleared the fence without the interference and it might have been caught. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel talked to West questioning the interpretation of using the replay system in this instance, not the decision made after watching the replay. Manuel was ejected by West. This process, including the review, took 13 minutes and the Phillies protested the game because of the use of the replay. At the time, the game was tied, 2-2 and the Marlins won the contest in 14 innings, 5-4.

In the eighth inning at Wrigley Field on September 18, 2011, a fly ball to left by the Cubs’ Carlos Pena hit the yellow stripe on the front edge of the basket that hangs on the wall. There was an umbrella in the basket that moved as the ball hit, making it appear that the ball struck the umbrella and bounced back onto the field. The play was ruled a homer by umpire Marty Foster but when Astros manager Brad Mills asked about the call, acting chief Jeff Nelson watched the replay and overturned the call to a ball in play. The runners were placed at second and third. Cubs manager Mike Quade argued the ruling and was ejected by Foster.

The Red Sox were in Detroit on April 7, 2012 to play the Tigers. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Miguel Cabrera’s fly ball landed behind the new left-field fence that was added in 2003 to shorten the distance for a home run. It hit the Tigers’ bullpen seating area and rebounded to the chain-link fence. When it happened, it looked as if the ball got stuck in the fence and the Red Sox outfielders signaled as such; umpire CB Bucknor ran out, looked and signaled that it was a double. Tigers manager Jim Leyland talked with Bucknor and crew chief Dale Scott and Scott watched the replay The left-field camera angle showed that the ball went over the fence before coming back and getting tangled in the fencing. The call was overturned to a home run. It was Cabrera’s second homer in the contest.

On June 18, 2012, Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers hit a fly ball in the bottom of the seventh inning that hit the edge of the pad on the left field wall. The play was ruled a foul ball by umpire Paul Nauert. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke asked about the call, so acting crew chief Kerwin Danley watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. The ball glanced off the edge of the pad, which was not aligned straight up the foul line, and that ball might have been foul except for the incorrect alignment of the pad. The run from this solo homer was the decisive run in the Brewers’ victory.

The Nationals were in St. Louis on September 29, 2012. In the top of the first inning, Michael Morse’s fly hit a sign just above the right-field fence and caromed back onto the field. The ball was ruled in play. Bryce Harper scored from third and Ryan Zimmerman ran from second and stopped at third. Adam LaRoche, running from first, rounded second and realized that Zimmerman had stopped, so LaRoche headed back to second. Morse was almost to second and had to run back to first but was tagged out. First-base umpire Chris Guccione, who had ruled the ball in play, spoke briefly with acting crew chief Jeff Nelson, who had called Morse out. Nelson watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. Since there had been some confusion on the bases, including a putout, Nelson sent all runners back to their original places and had them run the bases. To get back to the plate, Morse ran the bases backwards, retouching second and first on his way back. When he got to the plate, he heard his teammates in the dugout yelling for him to swing an imaginary bat. Catcher Yadier Molina repeated that, so Morse took a swing and all four runners scored on the recreated home run. Nationals television play-by-play announcer Bob Carpenter called the “homer” with his signature “See! You! Later!” as Morse’s imaginary ball cleared the wall.

On May 8, 2013 in Cleveland, Adam Rosales of the Athletics hit a fly ball in the top of the ninth inning. The ball seemed to strike the metal fence above and behind the yellow stripe at the top of the padded wall in left center. The ball was ruled in play but Athletics manager Bob Melvin asked about the call. Acting crew chief Angel Hernandez watched the replay and upheld the call. Melvin argued after the ruling and was ejected by Hernandez. The next day, a statement was released by the commissioner’s office that the ruling was “improper” but that it would stand because the decision to reverse a call by use of instant replay is at the sole discretion of the crew chief.

In the top of the sixth inning on May 19, 2013, Matt Joyce of the Rays hit a fly ball down the right field line which was ruled fair and in play with Joyce reaching second. Orioles manager Buck Showalter talked to the umpires claiming it was a foul ball. The umpires huddled and Rays manager Joe Maddon came onto the field. Crew chief Gerry Davis watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. The ball had actually struck the RF pole on the lowest part, which is painted black.

The Cubs played in Anaheim on June 5, 2013. In the bottom of the second inning, J.B. Shuck hit a fly ball off Matt Garza down the right-field line that was ruled a home run — the first of his first career. The Cubs claimed it was foul so the umpires huddled. Crew chief Jim Joyce watched the replay and overturned the call to a foul ball. On July 29, the Angels were in Arlington to face Garza, who had been traded to the Rangers. In the fifth inning, Shuck hit his first career home run off Garza and this time it was not taken away by replay.

On July 27, 2013, the Red Sox played in Baltimore. In the top of the sixth inning, Stephen Drew’s fly ball struck on top of the wall in right and caromed back onto the field. The ball was ruled in play by umpire Mike Estabrook. Jarrod Saltalamacchia scored and Drew trotted around third thinking he had a home run. The ball was relayed in to catcher Matt Wieters but Drew evaded Wieters and scored on what was ruled an inside-the-park home run by official scorer David Vincent. The Red Sox asked about the ruling on the ball in right, so crew chief Mike Winters watched the replay and overturned the call to a home run. This use of the review system changed the ruling on the field but did not change the result of the play or the statistical result!

There are a couple of replay instances that should be noted since they do not fall under the rules in place.

The first use of a television replay to change a call in major-league baseball happened nine years before it was legal to do so. On May 31, 1999, the Cardinals were playing the Marlins in Florida. In the bottom of the fifth inning, a fly ball by Cliff Floyd hit on or above the left-field scoreboard and was first ruled a double by second-base umpire Greg Gibson. Floyd and the Marlins argued the ball hit the facade behind the scoreboard and should be a homer. The umpires huddled and crew chief Frank Pulli changed the call to a home run. The Cardinals then argued and Pulli, who later said he was confused by the ground rules, decided to look at replays shown on a TV camera in the dugout. He overturned the call back to a double. The Marlins protested the game, but that protest was denied. Pulli was admonished by NL President Len Coleman, and a specific directive was issued barring future replays. The play would have been eligible for review under the replay rules adopted in 2008.

On June 25, 2009, after the replay system was put in place, the Phillies were playing in St. Petersburg against the Rays. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Pat Burrell came to the plate with a runner on first and two outs. He hit a fly ball which bounced into the left-center-field seats. Crew chief Gary Cederstrom watched a replay to determine if there was fan interference as the ball was leaving the field. After a one minute, 36 second delay, he said that the ball went into the seats cleanly and sent Carl Crawford, who had scored on the play, back to third. MLB Vice President Mike Port told Cederstrom the next day that he was not allowed to use replay in that circumstance.

 

Replay Expansion in 2014

On January 16, 2014, the owners unanimously approved an expanded use of the replay system to start in the 2014 season. This expansion covered the following play types:

• Book rule double (often incorrectly called “ground rule double”)
• Fair/foul (outfield only)
• Fan interference
• Force play (except fielder’s touching of second base on a double play)
• Grounds rule
• Hit by pitch
• Home plate collision
• Passing runners on the base path
• Plate collisions [new rule in 2014]
• Record keeping (such as ball/strike counts)
• Runners touching a base (appeal play)
• Stadium boundary calls (such as a fielder falling into the fan area to make a catch)
• Tag play
• Timing play (run scoring before the third out)
• Trap play (outfield only)

The following play types were not covered in the new version of the system:

• Balls and strikes
• Checked swings
• Fair/foul (infield only)
• Interference
• Obstruction
• Trap play (infield only)

This system allowed each manager one challenge per game. If a skipper challenged and was correct, he would get one more in that game. The umpires could not initiate a review until the seventh inning and only after a manager had used all his challenges. All plays would be reviewed by a staff of umpires at the review headquarters in New York once a review was requested.

Major League Baseball (MLB) agreed to hire six new umpires and create two more crews. The review headquarters would be staffed with current umpires, not retired umpires or umpire supervisors, thus the need for the additional crews. They would be able to overturn a call only if there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the ruling on the field was incorrect. The replay umpires had sole authority on runner placement if a call was overturned.

There were three outcomes defined:

• Confirmed — clear and convincing evidence that the call on the field was correct
• Stands — no clear and convincing evidence to confirm or overturn the call
• Overturned — clear and convincing evidence that the call on the field was incorrect

The home run review system already in place would remain essentially the same. The crew chief still made the decision to review a call just as in the past. However, the play would be reviewed by the replay umpires in New York, not by the crew chief at the ballpark.

MLB executive Tony LaRussa, one of the members of the committee that created the system, estimated that about 90 percent of all calls would be covered in the expanded system. The committee targeted what LaRussa called the “dramatic miss” type of call that had changed the outcome of a game in the past. The plan voted by the owners was what the committee announced as the first step, with changes expected to the new system for three years (2014 through 2016).

This system still allowed for missed calls to stand without review. For example, in addition to plays that are not reviewable, a manager might choose not to challenge a call early in a game, deciding to save his challenge for later. If a manager challenged one part of a play and a different part of the play is not correct, that second part is not reviewable. Limiting managers to one challenge and not allowing the umpires to initiate a review until that manager had used his was a decision based on MLB wanting to keep games moving and not let them get bogged down in innumerable reviews.

Teams were allowed to have a person in the clubhouse to monitor the game and look for plays to challenge but no television monitors were allowed in the dugout. Both teams would have the same video feed during a game and MLB standardized the technology in all ballparks. There would be 12 standard camera angles in each stadium made available to the replay umpires.

Challenges would have to be made before both the pitcher and batter are ready for the next pitch and teams would not be allowed to stall.

One interesting aspect of this expanded use of replay was the new rule in 2014 covering collisions at home plate. After spring training had started, MLB announced a new rule that the runner may not deviate from his path to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher. Also, the catcher could not block the plate unless he was in possession of the ball. The crew chief could use replay to determine if the rule was violated.

The first use of the newly-expanded system was on March 31, 2014, when it was used five times. In Pittsburgh in the top of the fifth inning, Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija bunted with runners on first and second. Pirtaes hurler Francisco Liriano fielded the ball and threw to third to force Nate Schierholtz. Pedro Alvarez’ throw to first was ruled in time to get Samardzija but Cubs manager Rick Renteria challenged the call. After a 90-second review, the call was confirmed.

Later that afternoon in Milwaukee, the Brewers’ Ryan Braun beat out an infield single. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged the call, which was overturned after a 58-second review. This was the first changed call under the new system and Braun was out.

That evening in Oakland, crew chief Mike Winters called for the first umpire review on a play at the plate. In the top of the sixth inning, Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians hit a grounder to the mound. Sonny Gray threw to the plate and Michael Brantley was tagged out. Winters wanted to check that catcher John Jaso did not block the plate improperly on the play and the review confirmed that he did not.

The next day, April 1, one of the holes in the system was evident. In the bottom of the fourth inning in Phoenix, the Giants attempted to pick off A.J. Pollock at first base. Giants manager Bruce Bochy challenged the safe call, which was confirmed. After Geraldo Parra doubled Pollock to third, catcher Buster Posey missed a pitch and Pollock scored. The call at the plate was controversial as it appeared Matt Cain tagged Pollock’s foot. However, Bochy could not challenge the ruling as he has already used his one challenge. The umpires could not review the play since it was not after the sixth inning.

The Red Sox were at Yankee Stadium on April 12. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Dean Anna doubled to right. Sox manager John Farrell challenged the safe call at second, which was upheld by replay. The next day, Major League Baseball admitted that the call should have been overturned since Anna’s foot came off the bag while Xander Bogaerts still had his glove on Anna’s hip. In the game on April 13, Francisco Cervelli was called out at first on an apparent double play to end the bottom of the fourth. Yankees skipper Joe Girardi challenged the ruling, which was overturned by the replay officials. Farrell argued the changed ruling, which resulted in an automatic ejection. Farrell yelled about the two calls in two days, both of which were incorrect and went against his team.

The new plate-blocking rule caused a lot of confusion early in the 2014 season. On April 13, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg thought Marlins catcher Jeff Mathis blocked the plate without the ball but the replay upheld the out call on Tony Gwynn, Jr. Later, MLB acknowledged that the call was incorrect. On June 18 in Pittsburgh, Devin Mesoraco was called out at home on a force play and the play was reviewed. The review official overturned the ruling, saying that Russell Martin blocked the plate without the ball. That call created a lot of controversy during and after the game. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was ejected arguing the decision. The next day, MLB released a statement saying that the new rule was not intended to be used on a force play, since the catcher must have his foot on the plate in that instance.

On June 1 in Washington, the Rangers had runners on first and third with two out in the top of the first inning. On the 1-2 pitch to Donnie Murphy, Alex Rios attempted to steal second. Rios beat the throw but his foot came off the bag and he was tagged out. HP umpire Clint Fagan ruled that Elvis Andrus scored from third before the out was made at second. Nationals manager Matt Williams challenged the ruling at the plate and the call was overturned by replay. Rangers manager Ron Washington challenged the ruling at second. This call was upheld and the inning was over with no runs scoring. This was the first time both managers challenged a part of the same play.

The Indians were in Los Angeles on July 1. In the bottom of the fourth, the Dodgers had runners on first and third with no outs when Adrian Gonzalez hit a fly ball to left field that was caught. Dee Gordon attempted to score from third and was out on a close play at the plate. Yasiel Puig ran to second on the throw home and was called safe on a close play. Indians manager Terry Francona challenged the ruling at second and the call was overturned by replay. This meant the Indians completed a triple play. Then Dodgers field boss Don Mattingly challenged the call at home, which was upheld.

Replay Expansion in 2015

On February 20, 2015, Major League Baseball announced changes to the 2014 Expanded Replay system. The changes included the following points:

• Managers will no longer come onto the field to request a replay
• Managers will keep a challenge each time a call is overturned, not just once
• Managers can challenge new types of plays
  • Runners leaving a base too soon
  • Runners properly touching a base on a tag up play

A manager may stand on the top step of the dugout to hold play briefly while waiting for feedback from the team’s video technician. In order to challenge an inning-ending call, the manager will be required to step onto the field so that the umpires can hold the defensive team on the field. This change was part of a larger pace-of-game initiative introduced at the same time, which is beyond the scope of this article.

A manager still had one challenge per game but could challenge again after each successful challenge. In post-season, regular season tie-breaker games and the All Star Game, a manager had two challenges to start the contest.

Through three years of expanded replay, there were 4,149 times the system had been used. Of these, 3,607 of them were manager challenges. Umpires requested 583 reviews without a manager challenge. Of the 583 umpire reviews, 41 were either a rules check or a ball/strike count check. The results of all reviews except the rule checks are listed in Table 1. The results of the manager challenges are listed in Table 2.

 

Table 1 — All Reviews by Result (2014-16)

Result	Total	Percentage
Reviews	4149
Confirmed	967	23.3%
Stands	1133	27.3
Overturned	2049	49.3%

Table 2 — Manager Challenges by Result (2014-16)

 

Managers have increased their number of challenges each season since 2014, when skippers challenged 1,062 calls. In 2015, that total increased to 1,188 and there was a large increase in 2016. That season, managers challenged 1,357 calls.

Those 3,607 challenges took place in 7,287 regular season and 103 post-season games, or one challenge every 2.05 games. With a turnover rate just over half, one call was overturned every 1.9 games. On a fully-scheduled day, there are 15 games played, so approximately four calls would be overturned on average in a fully-scheduled day. When one considers the number of reviewable calls made in each game, that is a small number of changed calls.

The overturn rate for all calls, including the umpire reviews (without the rule checks), is 49%. This is 2,049 out of 4,149 uses of the system in three years. This is a good baseline to look at individual umpires. Table 3 shows the umpires who have had the most calls reviewed in three seasons. These are all manager challenges and crew chief reviews except for rule checks. There is one minor league vacation substitute in this list marked as (AAA). The rest are major league staff umpires. The data are still small and trends will emerge as we acquire more data in future years. It is interesting that the umpires on this list have widely varying overturn rates, from Clint Fagan (43%) to Dan Iassogna (62%). The umpire who has been challenged the most times in three years has an overturn rate 6% lower than the league average. The number of games each man has umpired in the two years is listed in the right-most column.

 

Table 3 — Umpires with the Most Reviewed Calls (2014-16)

At the opposite end on this list are the umpires with the fewest calls reviewed. Table 4 shows the staff umpires who worked in 2014 through 2016 with the fewest reviews. To qualify for this list, an umpire must have worked at least 301 games over the three seasons, which is 62% of the three seasons games. David Rackley leads with just 25 reviewed calls and his overturn rate is very small as well.

 

Table 4 — Staff Umpires with the Fewest Reviewed Calls (2014-16)

 

Table 5 shows staff umpires with the highest overturn rate. The same qualifications apply as in Table 4.

 

Table 5 — Staff Umpires with the Highest Overturn Rate (2014-16)

 

The lowest overturn rates for staff umpires is shown in Table 6. The same qualifications apply as used in the two previous tables.

 

Table 6 — Staff Umpires with the Lowest Overturn Rate (2014-16)

Umpire	Total	Overturned	Confirmed	Stands	Overturned%
Adam Hamari (AAA)	47	15	15	17	32%
David Rackley	25	8	11	6	32%
Chris Guccione	51	17	16	18	33%
Hunter Wendelstedt	40	13	13	14	33%
Alfonso Marquez	32	11	10	11	34%
Vic Carapazza	49	17	18	14	35%
Alan Porter	50	18	19	13	36%
Mike Estabrook	48	18	10	20	38%
Sam Holbrook	34	13	13	8	38%
Tom Hallion	42	17	9	16	40%
Pat Hoberg (AAA)	40	16	10	14	40%
Will Little	42	17	9	16	40%
Quinn Wolcott	48	19	13	16	40%

 

Managers, coaches and players are not allowed to argue the result of a replay. This had not stopped some from doing so, however. There were six ejections during the years that home runs were reviewed. Since the expansion of replay, many more people have been ejected over a replay ruling. Since the 2014 expansion, all reviews are decided by umpires in the replay center, not the arbiters on the field. Someone who argues with the umpires on the field is not talking to the people who made the decision and thus it seems to be a waste of time. The following list shows all persons ejected for arguing replay rulings. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has been ejected four times in three years of expanded replay, which is the most of anyone on the list.

 

Date	Ejectee	Team	Umpire
Home Run Replay
08/06/2010	Ron Gardenhire	MIN	Gerry Davis
10/03/2010	Edwin Rodriguez	FLO	Joe West
08/18/2011	Ron Gardenhire	MIN	Brian O’Nora
09/04/2011	Charlie Manuel	PHI	Joe West
09/18/2011	Mike Quade	CHN	Marty Foster
05/08/2013	Bob Melvin	OAK	Angel Hernandez
Expanded Replay
04/13/2014	John Farrell	BOS	Bob Davidson
04/14/2014	Ron Washington	TEX	Ted Barrett
04/27/2014	Bryan Price	CIN	Bill Miller
04/27/2014	Homer Bailey	CIN	Greg Gibson
05/01/2014	Brian Butterfield	BOS	Dale Scott
05/02/2014	Joe Maddon	TBA	Brian O’Nora
05/25/2014	John Gibbons	TOR	Mark Carlson
06/07/2014	Ryne Sandberg	PHI	Tom Hallion
06/09/2014	Mike Scioscia	ANA	Bob Davidson
06/11/2014	Terry Collins	NYN	Gary Cederstrom
06/16/2014	Kirk Gibson	ARI	Ted Barrett
06/18/2014	Clint Hurdle	PIT	Jerry Layne
06/22/2014	Ron Washington	TEX	Bill Miller
06/23/2014	Buddy Black	SDN	Brian O’Nora
06/25/2014	Mike Moustakas	KCA	Brian Knight
07/02/2014	John Gibbons	TOR	Greg Gibson
07/07/2014	Fredi Gonzalez	ATL	Mike Everitt
07/26/2014	Brad Ausmus	DET	Jim Joyce
07/29/2014	Ron Gardenhire	MIN	Ted Barrett
07/31/2014	Mike Redmond	MIA	Mike Winters
08/02/2014	Kirk Gibson	ARI	Ron Kulpa
08/10/2014	Buck Showalter	BAL	Jeff Nelson
08/13/2014	Robin Ventura	CHA	Fieldin Culbreth
08/14/2014	Buddy Black	SDN	Bob Davidson
08/17/2014	John Farrell	BOS	Doug Eddings
09/08/2014	Lloyd McClendon	SEA	Jeff Nelson
04/16/2015	Kevin Cash	TBA	Laz Diaz
04/26/2015	Jeff Banister	TEX	Manny Gonzalez
05/13/2015	Don Mattingly	LAN	Bob Davidson
06/17/2015	Walt Weiss	COL	Jerry Layne
06/20/2015	A.J. Hinch	HOU	Mike DiMuro
07/02/2015	John Gibbons	TOR	Gerry Davis
07/04/2015	Brayan Pena	CIN	Bill Welke
07/27/2015	Carlos Gomez	MIL	Gerry Davis
07/27/2015	Craig Counsell	MIL	Gerry Davis
08/02/2015	Joe Maddon	CHN	Hunter Wendelstedt
08/15/2015	Craig Counsell	MIL	Fieldin Culbreth
08/15/2015	A.J. Hinch	HOU	Bill Miller
08/18/2015	Ned Yost	KCA	Mark Carlson
08/21/2015	Brad Ausmus	DET	Ron Kulpa
04/30/2016	Robin Ventura	CHA	Gerry Davis
05/11/2016	Clint Hurdle	PIT	Jeff Kellogg
05/11/2016	Starling Marte	PIT	Alan Porter
06/23/2016	Brian Snitker	ATL	Mike Everitt
06/28/2016	Jeff Francoeur	ATL	Hunter Wendelstedt
06/30/2016	Mike Matheny	SLN	Mike Everitt
07/30/2016	Terry Collins	NYN	Jeff Kellogg
08/03/2016	Terry Francona	CLE	Fieldin Culbreth
08/03/2016	Mickey Callaway	CLE	Fieldin Culbreth
08/18/2016	Brian Butterfield	BOS	Scott Barry
09/11/2016	John Gibbons	TOR	Jim Joyce
09/16/2016	Bryan Price	CIN	Gerry Davis
09/19/2016	Jeff Banister	TEX	Joe West

Notes

1 All game information is taken from the Retrosheet (www.retrosheet.org) web site. A complete list of the use of the replay system can be found at this site.