The St. Paul Saints have been known to pioneer certain promotions aimed at garnering attention. Well, on July 22, the Saints will not only have a promotion worthy of national attention, but they will allow Midway Stadium to be the guinea pig for perhaps the most important change in the way professional baseball is officiated. This year’s American Association All-Star Game, to be played on July 22 at Midway Stadium, will be the first professional baseball game featuring instant replay. Umpires will have a hand-held device which, basically, streams video of the game which is transmitted by a Slingbox from a TiVo so that the umpires can rewind, pause, and fast forward close plays. The Saints’ official press release, which follows, does details the technology used and the implementation of this instant replay trial run:
On July 22, umpires will use instant replay in professional baseball for the first time ever. While Major League Baseball debates the logistics and timing of replay, Best Buy Mobile will implement a mobile instant replay system with the St. Paul Saints during the American Association’s All Star Game in St. Paul, Minn., marking the first time in the history of baseball that instant replay will be used in a professional game.
“It’s amazing how many disputed moments in baseball — Jeffrey Maier reaching over the wall at Yankee Stadium, the disputed dropped third strike to A.J. Pierzynski in Game 2 of the ALCS or Don Denkinger’s call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series — could have easily been resolved with an instant replay system that now costs about $1,000,” said Derek Sharrer, executive vice president and general manager, Saint Paul Saints. “This summer, we’ll take the first step toward giving umpires the same clarity on the field that fans have at home.” To avoid adding substantial time to the game, video replay will be streamed to a mobile phone kept in umpire crew chief’s pocket, giving him immediate access to the play from his position on the field. The umpire will be able to control the video – functions such as rewind, fast forward and pause – from his phone using Slingbox technology. “Baseball purists contend that instant replay takes the game out of the umpires’ hands. With the help of Geek Squad, we’re keeping calls – literally – in umpires’ hands using mobile video,” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile. “Streaming video is just one of the hundreds of ways mobile technology can be a plus to people’s lives – whether they are passing time at the DMV, making the most of their three-hour layover in the airport, or umpiring a professional baseball game in front of 25,000 screaming fans.”
The American Association All-Star Game takes place on Tuesday, July 22 at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, MN. It will pit the best players in the independent league. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. “We are happy to have the American Association be the leader in testing this new technology,” said Miles Wolff, American Association Commissioner. Umpires will review decisions involving homeruns, fair or foul ball, hit batsmen, catch or no catch, plays at the plate and any play with two outs. The crew chief will have the authority to overturn the original call. Geek Squad Agents will be stationed in each team’s dugout in order to quickly respond on the field to any technical issues experienced by the umpires. The solution designed by Best Buy Mobile and Geek Squad includes the following components:· Sling Media Slingbox Pro · TiVO Series 2 Digital Video Recorder · HTC Touch smart phone
…let me begin by saying that i, ideologically, am in full support of instant replay. there is no reason why we should risk the integrity of a big call on the eyes of umpires who, while being impartial, may be out of position or may be swayed by the moment. we’ve seen this a number of times, as derek sharrer points out in the press release. and no, i am not only in support of instant replay because i am an ardent yankee hater, although the blown call on what should’ve been a home run for carlos delgado against the yankees pushed me over the edge. i consider myself a traditionalist, but delgado hit a home run, it was called a home run, and then was overruled on what seemingly was a vote amongst four uimpires, two of whom were on the opposite side of the field. i fully support when umpires confer on a call when they are not sure, but if they are going overrule a call made on the field, one of the umpires better be 100% sure that the call on the field was incorrect. needless to say, it was impossible for anyone to be 100% sure that carlos delgado’s ball was foul because, well, it wasn’t. as for this specific use of instant replay, i can’t think of any downside. not only should this put the microscope on one of, if not the best independent baseball league in the country, but it allows baseball fans everywhere the opportunity to get excited about a st. paul saints game. in addition, how has nobody figured out the ease with which best buy is going to do this? honestly, they are using three forms of simple technology and my understanding is that the main expense is the streaming video (i.e. a phone company charges you to stream video over their wireless signal). i personally can’t wait to see how this all works out, and, who knows, maybe this is the start of instant replay in more baseball leagues than just one…
Tags: All Star Game, Best Buy, Instant Replay, Promotions
