MLB announced on Friday an important change that will affect fans attending baseball games in person and those watching on their TV, computer, or mobile device.
Starting with the 2022 season, which begins on April 7, umpires will now be mic'd up so they can announce the outcome of replay reviews.
This season Major League Umpires will conduct in-park announcements during the Replay Review process. We’re pleased to launch this enhancement to the ballpark and broadcast experiences. Training has been held in Arizona and Florida this spring. pic.twitter.com/vQvMXXPMjw
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) April 1, 2022
This is a much needed change. Replay reviews can take a varying amount of time, as little as 15-20 seconds or as much as five minutes or more. And at the end of that, when the umpires handed their headsets back to the technician, they'd make a motion with their arms indicating what the outcome was. The crowd at the ballpark might not be able to see that, and they might not know what the signals meant. The TV and radio broadcasts could also not know exactly what was going on. Having umpires announce the result means no one is left in the dark.
MLB historically resistant to on-field technology
The addition of on-field announcements also pushes MLB a little farther into the 21st century. Out of the four major North American sports leagues, MLB has historically been the most resistant to making technology part of the in-game experience, and they were the last to institute any kind of replay review.
For example, the NFL experimented with replay review in the late 1980s, and the coach's challenge was instituted in 1999. But MLB didn't institute any kind of replay review until 2008, and it was limited to boundary calls on home runs that only umpires could trigger. It wasn't until 2014 that MLB implemented the system we know today, which includes one coach's challenge per game.
This is a positive change, because it brings viewers further into the game by actually letting them know what's happening on the field. But it was initially hard to believe it was actually happening. Not just due to MLB's historical resistance to technology, but because the announcement was made on April Fool's Day. ESPN's Jeff Passan had to reassure everyone that it wasn't a joke.
This is not an April Fools joke. And it is a long time coming. https://t.co/LO4EFFzkhA
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2022
Everyone was right to be skeptical at first, because no one wants to get tricked into thinking something cool and useful is happening when it's not. This one time, it turned out to be true. But maybe next time MLB should consider not announcing a major on-field enhancement on the biggest social media joke day of the entire year.
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