To have instant replay available and choose to stubbornly refuse to allow it is asinine. Yes, Baseball is the Holy Game Of America, but c’mon, people — we’re in the friggin’ 21ST CENTURY!!! What is this obsession with hanging on to outdated, unfair methodologies simply because That’s The Way They’ve Done It Since The Early 20th Century? Why should ANYONE be robbed of a valid, hard-earned achievement because people with their heads in the sand would rather stubbornly cling to Olden Tymes? Would ANYONE who experienced the early days of the internet with dial-up service go back to such antiquated technology now that broadband is readily available? Should we all refuse to buy digital cameras (or ditch the ones we already have) because people have been using film for many decades longer than digital cameras have been in existence? Should horse races give up on technology to rule on a “photo finish” and instead rely upon some guy who might have gotten a bug in his eye at the exact moment two nose-to-nose horses cross the finish line? It’s hard to believe that anyone would support such ass-backwards thinking, but that’s EXACTLY what’s happening with the IR issue in baseball.

This very debate is utterly ludicrous; there is absolutely NO logical, reasonable explanation to knowingly refuse to allow modern technology where the use of such technology can insure ACCURACY to everyone’s benefit. Sure, let the umps make the best calls they can (as the refs do in football, for example), but in the rare case of a close call, let the teams have a certain number of instant-replay views per game (to prevent a situation where EVERY call has to go to IR, just as they do in football), or in some other way design the rule to make the IR as fair as possible to BOTH teams (the suggestion that IR shouldn’t be allowed because it will add even MORE time to an already-snail’s-pace sport is just plain silly; adding another minute or two isn’t going to ruin anyone’s day, and is beyond question worth the minuscule amount of time to Get It Right). I’ve also heard the argument that allowing IR is basically admitting that humans are fallible. Well, guess what…THEY ARE!!!! And that’s exactly why Gallaraga had a perfect game (and other record) needlessly stolen from him.

To knowingly allow baseball players to have their hard-earned achievements be utterly stolen from them is a disservice to the players, the fans, and the entire sport. I look forward to hearing a LOGICAL reason for refusing to allow IR, but am confident that such a reason simply doesn’t exist (I encourage any one of you to prove me wrong). And this stubborn refusal to embrace the 21st Century and instead cherish completely wrong, career-damaging calls is one more reason that there won’t be any baseball on MY television (unless I’m having trouble sleeping, of course).