It happened in Tampa Bay last night when umpires reviewed an Alex Rodriguez home run:
ST. PETERSBURG — Tropicana Field hosted history on Wednesday night, when instant replay was used for the first time in Major League history.
Alex Rodriguez hit a 2-2 pitch from Rays closer Troy Percival high over the foul pole in left in the ninth inning and, to add to the confusion, the ball ricocheted off the D-ring catwalk. Third-base umpire Brian Runge ruled the ball fair.
Rays catcher Dioner Navarro immediately cried foul and asked for a replay. Manager Joe Maddon also thought the ball went foul, so he went onto the field to meet with the umpires.
“Being unsure of the process, I started with [home-plate umpire Greg Gibson], and I said, ‘I can’t really tell if it’s fair or foul,’” Maddon said. “He said it was [Runge's] call, so I went down there and said, ‘Brian, listen man, I’m not jumping on you right now. That ball is high and that pole is not high enough. And I would like you guys to talk about it.’”
Crew chief Charlie Reliford, who was at second base on Wednesday night, advised Maddon not to talk to Percival while they huddled.
“We all believed it was a home run, but since the technology is in place, we made the decision to use the technology and go look at the replays,” Reliford said.
The umpires then headed for the third-base dugout where they viewed “several” replays on the monitor according to Reliford.
“And the replays we reviewed were conclusive that the call we made was correct,” Reliford said. “We had it going right over the pole. All four of us had it going right over the pole on the field. And our views of the replays confirmed that. It was not inconclusive; it was conclusive that Brian’s call was correct.”
The crew took two minutes and 15 seconds to make the call.
And that, I guess, is that.
I’m still not sure that instant replay is going to work for basball, though.
