Because it’s not very important to teach children that dealing with unfair decisions is a part of life, Little League Baseball (copyright, Inc., registered, patent pending) is expanding instant replay at the World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Whereas before instant replay could only be used on plays that should have resulted in a dead ball (usually disputed home runs), now coaches can challenge just about anything; forceouts, tag plays on the basepaths, hit batters, missed bases, other various infractions.
A coach only gets one unsuccessful challenge per game (two if it goes extra innings).
From the Los Angeles Times:
“This is just another tool to help them do their job better,” [Little League president Richard] Keener said of the volunteer umpires who will work the 16-team World Series, which begins Aug. 20. “This retains not only the human element, but the volunteer element.”
A spokesman for [MLB commissioner Bud] Selig declined Monday to comment on Little League’s latest innovation, but expect MLB to be watching. It was Little League that made the use of batting helmets mandatory, 10 years before they were required in the majors.
And once again we’ve got it all backwards. Major League Baseball should have instant replay, and Little League should be played in local neighborhoods with no TV cameras within five miles. Here’s the graph that actually makes me feel a little ill:
Each game in the tournament is scheduled to be televised by ESPN, which will use 12 to 14 cameras and up to 16 playback machines. That’s nearly twice as many network cameras as ESPN uses for many regular-season major league telecasts.
Must everything ESPN touches become corporate overkill? To make the experience complete for the children, one ESPN broadcaster will be charged with sexual harassment of the Little League mascot, Arash Markazi will write a profile of the winning team that will be pulled at the last minute, and Chris Berman will dub one of the players Tommy “Bed” Wedders.
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Replay expanded for Little League WS [ESPN]
Little League to expand instant replay [Los Angeles Times]
