By Rory Graf-Brennen
http://www.RDbaseball.org
The West Coast Conference will be bringing instant replay into the WCC tournament playoffs this spring, but not nearly as much instant replay as the MLB has coming next season.
In the WCC playoffs, instant replay will only be used for certain plays, like looking at whether a ball called foul was actually fair, or whether not a homerun was truly a round-tripper. But instant replay in the WCC won’t be used to review all foul balls, or other plays, such as force or tag outs on the bases, checked swings, or balls and strikes.
The current MLB replay system rules allow review of whether a called homerun was fair or foul, whether a ball left the field of play, and whether there is spectator interference. The new MLB instant replay rules for this coming season in 2014 are much different. The new replay review system will include foul-fair calls on the lines and whether a ball was caught or trapped. It will cover most plays, including, “”Tag plays, out/safe at first, fair/foul past the bags.” Only a few plays won’t be reviewable – foul tips, balls and strikes, and checked swings. If a manager wants to challenge a call he must notify the ump before the next pitch is thrown. A manager cannot call for review after arguing the play. The video review will be conducted at MLB headquarters in New York, most likely by former umps, and will be relayed back by via headset. Each manager will have a max of two challenges per game, but if a manger runs out of challenges, an umpire can call for a review on his own if he thinks it necessary.
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