Missed Call: Aren't Baseball Games on TV Boring Enough?

Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game. And then he didn't. It's a shame that Galarraga won't get official credit for what he did.

But the calls for instant replay are off base. Jim Joyce missed the call that cost the pitcher his place in history. And yes, having instant replay would have resulted in the 'right' call. But really, does baseball need another reason to slow down? As it is, it's almost as ponderous as football. And it's closing in on cricket. Last night's game lasted 1:44, the shortest game in 5 years. We need more of those.

There is nothing 'instant' about instant replay. Look at the experience of pro football. It takes minutes to resolve the most meaningless situations and drains any athletic drama from the event. Any momentum mustered by either team to that point is lost while officials review, confer and generally look silly in the process.

Instant replay is not the solution. Baseball is moving towards a situation - already faced and unresolved by basketball -  in which the arbiters want 'face time'. As a result, too many calls are becoming situational (such as the "neighborhood" tag at second), personal (the moving strike zone) and arbitrary (balk calls). All ways for umpires to generate controversy and become central to the outcome of the game.

Baseball needs to reinforce the idea that the best umps are the ones no one notices.  Adding instant replay only reinforces the rising visibility of umpires, at the expense of the game.