This 2020 MLB season, chief of staff umpires will wear mics during the game. They will be able to announce decisions on replay reviews and explain the rules, if necessary.
I think it’s a great idea to have umpires do this during the game. It benefits fans at the game and at home significantly. For those at the game, sometimes the home stadium only replays one angle of a challenged play on the big screen. They never explain the decision, the umpire simply makes a few arm motions and play resumes.
But if you’re in a seat further away, it’s hard to understand what exactly is happening without all the different camera angles and slow motion replay, especially if the play if a little more complex than determining if a player is safe or out.
Benefits of mic’d umpires during the game extend to managers as well, who often go up and speak to the umpires after decisions are made. At least now managers will know exactly what they are debating when they get upset about a call.
For fans at home, you’ll get a more concrete reason for the result of a play instead of listening to the announcers speculating about the reason for several minutes. In the past, if you were to flip between team broadcasts after a review, you’d often hear two different interpretations of what transpired.
In the spirit of having umpires now explain calls to everyone, here’s some of my favorite strange plays from recent years that could’ve used an explanation:
1. When the Yankees had a force out, interference and confusion in the basepaths
The runner on first was headed to second, but then turned around and ran back to first, and then ran to second again. During the replay review, the umpires were taking notes about what to do. There were a few different things being reviewed here, it would’ve been nice to hear the explanation relayed to the umpires from the official replay room in New York.
2. That time the Dodgers pitched sideways
Alex Wood accidentally lost grip of the ball, flinging it towards the first base line. Chaos ensued, as the batter started running to first and the runner on third ran home. The umpire ended up calling it a balk.
3. When Segura ran backwards to first
When Segura was on second and Braun was on first, Segura got caught in a run down trying to steal third. He made it back to second and met Braun there, who was called out. In the midst of all the confusion, Segura trotted to first base and stayed there, losing a bag.
While this one is just bad baserunning, it can take a few watches to really understand what’s going on. Must’ve been hard for fans at the game to understand after seeing it in real time only once.
4. Anytime the ball hits a ring at Tropicana Field
Whenever this happens, the rule book comes out on the broadcast with the classifications for the different catwalk rings and what to do when the ball hits the speakers, roof, or anything else that may be hidden up there. When I saw this happen live, I had to look up the rules on my phone to figure out what happened.
5. When Khris Davis Forgot to Touch Home Plate after a Home Run
Khris Davis hit a home run, but just missed home plate after rounding the bases and was called out. After review, he was called safe. How confusing would it be if you were at the game and Davis was called out after hitting an obvious home run?