Bud Selig: MLB Expanded Replay Reluctantly on the Way

Expanded instant replay is coming to MLB, said Commissioner Bud Selig during an interview with ESPN New York on Friday: "We're now going to add it on trapped balls in the outfield and as I call them, bullets hit down the first and third base lines."

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig: Expanded Replay is on the Horizon

During a year in which soccer, international rugby and the NBA all voted to adopt expand instant replay, while the NFL has vowed to give fans a glimpse under the replay hood, showing instant replay angles on jumbotrons and big screens around the league, baseball, long reluctant to the expansion of replay review, might give into peer pressure sooner rather than later.

In December 2011, MLB's proposed labor deal included a provision that would have expanded instant replay to cover Selig-described "bullet" fair/foul calls (supported by 36 percent of UEFL'ers), catch/trap calls (30 percent of UEFL'ers) and the expansion of replay to include all spectator interference calls (68 percent of UEFL'ers). The proposal was ultimately rejected due to a lack of logistical and implementation solutions (e.g., a fifth umpire vs. a booth official, how would runner placement be enforced during a foul-to-fair call reversal?).

Nonetheless, Selig warned, "I'm very cautious in spite of the fact that we've made more changes in baseball in the last 20 years than we have in our history."

Selig continued, citing concerns for disrupting pace of the game, indicating he is "inclined to agree" with those who are opposed to expanding instant replay, stating, "there is little appetite in the sport today for replay."

In regards to umpiring, Selig said, "I read the umpire scores and you'd be surprised how well they do. Nobody second-guessed umpires more than me when I owned the Milwaukee Brewers, I admit it."


News: Selig confident replay will grow
Related: MLB Wants to Expand Instant Replay: A Comprehensive Look at the Proposed Deal (Dec. 2011)