NEW YORK(AP)
Umpires want baseball to take another look at instant replay.
Umps said their governing board voted Tuesday to boycott a
conference call with management intended to discuss implementing
replay and are angry that their concerns aren't being
addressed.
Major League Baseball responding by saying it canceled the
Wednesday call because it doesn't have a replay agreement with
the union.
"A lot of the procedural issues necessary for instant
replay to be implemented need to be worked out," World Umpires
Association spokesman Lamell McMorris said. "Major League
Baseball needs to step up to the plate and iron out these
issues."
Umpires say they're unhappy that replay equipment is being
installed away from the field in nearly all major league ballparks
and say MLB wants to limit the number of umpires allowed to review
replay monitors.
They also aren't pleased that MLB wants them to discuss the
replays with umpire supervisors in New York before making a
decision on whether to reverse a call. They claim MLB may not be
able to provide replays for some rescheduled games.
"I'm not going to go through these one by one. I will
tell you that on a number of them, the comments are simply not
accurate," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice
president for labor relations. "For example, we've had an
understanding with the WUA for some time that the crew chief and
the crew chief only would be the one responsible for reviewing the
video and making the decision on instant replay.
"There are other issues that remain to be worked out. It is
my general policy that I don't comment when I'm trying to
bargain but I remain confident that we're gong to be able to
make a deal."
Baseball has started installing equipment in ballparks, hoping
to get a replay system up and running this month. It would be used
for boundary calls, such as determining whether balls cleared
fences for home runs and whether potential homers near foul poles
were fair.
McMorris said that other than at Chase Field in Phoenix, the
equipment will cause umpires to leave the field.
"Thus, there will be a lack of transparency and obviousness
for the public as to what is going on when instant replay is under
way," he said.
McMorris said the procedures and limitations were proposed by
Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president for baseball
operations.
"There may be situations where the umpires will have to
leave the field in shifts so that everyone can view the video while
leaving the requisite number of umpires on the field,"
McMorris said. "This could create a `Laurel and Hardy'
effect, and may cause delay-of-game problems."
McMorris said Solomon wants some umpires to remain on the field
because "he doesn't trust the teams to behave themselves
in their absence." McMorris also said MLB hasn't thought
about where to place batters and runners after a changed call, or
how crew chiefs will communicate decisions to the teams, official
scorer, media and fans.
McMorris maintained Solomon originally wanted only an umpire
supervisor to review replays, but that umpires objected and said
they wanted to see the video for themselves. In addition, McMorris
said MLB hasn't figured out how to secure the cabinets where
the equipment is stored, claiming that in some ballparks the
location is in public areas.
"The umpires raised concerns and brought potential problems
to Solomon's attention at least six weeks ago," McMorris
said.
Solomon did not return a call seeking comment and was en route
to Beijing, MLB spokesman Rich Levin said.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.