Record setting no hitter lost on blown umpire call... (1 Viewer)

[Phantom Warrior]

Watching the O's vs NYY today (O's lose again), the announcers made reference to the company (?) that gives cars away to pitchers of perfect games. It seems they are going to award a car to Galarraga for his 1 hit "perfect game". At least someone has some class about this disaster. Where is Kuhn when you need him? -- Al

Kuhn is probably rolling over in his grave.

Terry

 

[Spitfrnd]

I can see both sides, but it seems like the one thing baseball has going for it is that it is a traditional, old-fashioned American sport dating back over a hundred years. The umps will miss some calls, but the human element is part of the charm of the game. And the games are long enough without adding to them with lengthy reviews like those that break up the flow of NFL games. I would be careful to start messing around with that given all the other problems MLB has. Frankly, I can't believe they can sustain the current number of teams given the record low attendance and TV ratings in some markets last year. The disparity in payroll between teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers with smaller market teams has become a joke. That's a much bigger problem for the sport than a few missed calls.

I agree with you mate. What makes any game interesting is the competition and the lack of predictability of the outcome. If you know the big payroll teams will win, why bother to watch and who cares how many mistakes the umpires make. When pro sports were started, this was not an issue because salaries were so pitifully low. Now they are absurdly high for what is actually being produced. In this circumstance, some form of revenue sharing that ensures fair talent distribution would seem critical unless you want to have a two or four team league, which is about what we have now.