major league baseball

Major League baseball has been holding out, by being the last remaining professional sport not to use some form of instant replay.  They have been hoping to maintain a human element with the use of umpires since it began.

Because of numerous missed calls by major league baseball umpires, a campaign was launched to change the mind of Commissioner Bud Selig’s adamant stance against instant replay. Missed calls by umpires have not just happened this season but have become part of major league baseball history.

In 1996 Derek Jeter made a disputed home run in the American League Championship Series. If there had been instant replay, right field umpire Richie Garcia would have seen that 12 year old Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and caught the baseball that went right over the head of Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco and brought it over the wall for a home run that tied Game 1.

The game went into extra innings and finally ended when Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams hit a walk-off homer in the 11th inning. Gene Budig, American League President denied Baltimore’s protest, but when he later saw the replay admitted he was wrong and Jeter had not made a home run.

Major league baseball umpires have always been encouraged to discuss controversial calls because they cannot rule home run plays that they can’t see. Instant replay would definitely come in handy here.

"It's so tricky now with all the ballparks and the different dimensions," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "[The umpires are] not enough. They can't always pick it up. You have all these quirks that make it so difficult. I can't tell sometimes, and players can't tell sometimes. I believe it's the way to go. You want to get it right."
The debate over the use of instant replay in Major league baseball games was renewed in force this year by three missed calls over the span of a four-day period.

Major league general managers approved the limited use of instant replay in November 2007, recommending it through a 25-5 vote during an annual meeting. The voting was conducted regarding limited boundary calls, such as determining whether possible home runs are fair or foul, if balls have actually cleared fences, and to review potential fan interference.
 
The addition of instant replay to the umpires' repertoire may actually help save time in Major League baseball games for the remainder of the season.