Major League Baseball umpires now have microphones to make replay announcements
In August, the Royals were playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago when fans in the stands and at home were left wondering what was happening.
Chicago’s Ian Happ singled to right field, and two runners appeared to score to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead in the third inning. But Happ slipped rounding first and was tagged for the final out of the frame.
The Royals challenged, saying Happ had been tagged for the final out before the second runner touched home plate. The umpires ruled in the Royals’ favor but no one watching knew it.
Even the broadcast crew was baffled.
“I didn’t think that they would reverse that, and I don’t know that they have,” one said.
“It would be nice to know if they have,” said the other.
One scoreboard at Wrigley Field showed the Cubs had a 3-0 lead. Another had it as a 2-0 game. In the end, the the run was taken off the board but not until after fans were left in the dark.
That sort of thing won’t happen again in 2022.
Major League Baseball umpires have been announcing when a team challenges and the outcome of the challenge.
In the Royals’ 10-7 loss to the Guardians on Monday, there were four challenges. And the crowd of 8,971 knew exactly what happened with each call, including when Whit Merrifield was called out while trying to steal second base was overturned.
Having umpire announce the outcome of challenges had been in the works for a few years, MLB executive vice president Morgan Sword told ESPN.
“We discussed the possibility of doing this with the umpires during their most recent CBA negotiation, and then COVID got in the way of our planning,’‘ Sword said. “We finally were able this year to give them the appropriate training and get everybody ready for Opening Day.”
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 10:16 AM.
