- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
Given that there are four umpires in postseason play, is there a reason that umpiring duties can't be divided up directionally rather than by bases? I.e., the ump on the right field line is responsible for calling plays on the first base side of second when the play blocks the view of the umpire behind second, the third base ump for plays on the other side in the same situation, etc.
I know it wouldn't work in regular season play, and God knows Scooter the Talking Baseball could never explain vector-based umpiring to us, the morons at home. But having umps call only plays they actually see seems like a modest first step before resorting to something as foul as "instant" replay.
And, yes, I know this will never happen.
