MLB’s Replay Review System Might Be Broken, And It's Time To Fix It | Ian Miller

Replay review systems in professional sports were supposed to eliminate the obvious officiating mistakes that could change the result of situations or games. In theory.

In practice, however, as the current situation in Major League Baseball exemplifies, the obsession with defaulting to the "call on the field" has led to innumerable mistakes. Tuesday night's performance by both the on-field umpiring crew and New York-based replay room during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners was inexcusable. And highlights how fundamentally broken replay review is in practice.

The issues started with home plate umpire CB Bucknor, who's picked up where Angel Hernandez left off. Bucknor was horrible, well below the expected accuracy level with just 82% of strikes called correctly. 

But then the review system nearly turned the game on its head, starting in the top of the 8th inning. In a tie game, with both teams battling for playoff spots or positioning, Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly attempted a pickoff move with Mariners utility man Dylan Moore on first base.

Moore was called safe on the field, but replays consistently showed Freddie Freeman got the tag down before Moore hit the base. But because the call on the field was wrong, the play stood. 

Instead of clearing the bases and recording the second out, Moore stayed on first. He was thrown out at second to complete a double play immediately afterwards, but that doesn't change the fact that the call was missed.

Then it got worse.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after being called out on strikes by home plate umpire CB Bucknor #54 against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning at Dodger Stadium on August 20, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Umpires, Replay Reviews, A Bad Combination For MLB

While the eighth inning call didn't wind up leading to a run, a call in the ninth inning took one off the board.

With the Mariners now down three runs after a Jason Heyward homer, Leo Rivas roped a double into the right center field gap. Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson then threw a wild pitch that catcher Will Smith had trouble finding, and Rivas attempted, unwisely, to score from second base.

Wisdom aside though, Rivas was called out at the plate. Except replay once again showed that he was clearly safe; Hudson was late getting the tag down and Rivas' hand was already on the plate. 

But because Bucknor had gotten the call wrong on the field and replay review functions under a broken mandate, the call stood. Instead of being down 6-4 with one out, the Mariners were suddenly just a few pitches away from the game ending.

Yes, Rivas shouldn't have made the second out at home when his run wasn't the tying one, but that doesn't change that he was clearly safe. And replay review still got it wrong.

MLB's changed all sorts of rules in recent years, but have left replay alone. It's time to change it. Instead of defaulting to the call on the field, the replay room in New York should evaluate the correct call only. If the runner is out, he's out. If he's safe, he's safe. In theory, it made sense to assume that the umpires on the field would know best. Clearly, that's not always the case. And with the replay room apparently paralyzed by indecision on close calls, fans are left wondering what the point of the system actually is. 

Time to fix it.