Summary[]
Ben and Sam banter about a behind-the-scenes Barry Bonds story, then talk to legal consultant Jason Wojciechowski about why it’s both good and bad that replay review is like the law.
Topics[]
- Replay review
- Selective rule enforcement
- Slide rules and oversliding the base
- Manager challenges
- Future of replay
Banter[]
- Sam had an opinion piece, based on The Only Rule Is It Has to Work, published in the New York Times.
- One of Sam's favorite episodes was Jason's appearance in Episode 246 discussing express written consent.
- Sam is amused by a radio ad he heard that said, "Sometimes diabetes can feel like don't-abetes".
- Episode 867 follow-up: Mike Trout has continued to improve his offensive performance.
- Episode 823 follow-up: Sam spoke with a player to learn more about Barry Bonds hitting in spring training. The player said Bonds tracked the first pitch off a pitching machine, then hit a home run to dead center off the batter's eye on the second pitch. After finishing Bonds proclaimed, "51 years old, best there ever was."
Notes[]
- There have been many replay reviews this season that, even when slowed down into super slow-motion, a clear decision is not obvious. In this case the call on the field is upheld.
- Sam is less sold on the replay system than Ben and Jason. Ben and Jason acknowledge that it is far from perfect, but they are overall much happier with it.
- Jason thinks that replay has highlighted just how much of the game was being called differently than by the letters of the rule book.
Links[]
- Effectively Wild Episode 869: Buckle Up, Replay is the Law
- What Happens When Baseball-Stats Nerds Run a Pro Team? by Sam Miller