No Arguing Replay

Few doubt the significance and the effectiveness of instant replay in Major League Baseball. Useless arguments and, more importantly, incorrect calls are now more or less removed from the game. However, some negatives have leaked into the process.

In Thursday night’s series opener between the Yankees and the Twins, Justin Morneau hit a towering fly ball to right field that appeared to leave the park left of the foul pole. Joe Girardi protested the call, and the umpires went to the replay. At a closer look, the ball was clearly foul, and the umpires overturned the call. Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire disagreed, and he promptly left the dugout and loudly voiced his opposition to the call. He was soon ejected.

Replay is meant to do one thing: make a correct call based on irrefutable video evidence. For that reason, managers should not be allowed argue calls based on replay. We can’t have a never-ending circle of arguments. Video evidence should be the final determining factor.

Major League Baseball should act immediately and create a rule that calls for the immediate ejection of managers, players, or coaches that leave the dugout to argue a call based on replay.