I understand we are living in the 21st century and all the hoopla that goes along with that fact. I understand we have gadgets supreme and technology that my grandparents dreamed about happening in some science fiction rendition of the year 2000. Shoot, I wear a piece of technology that assures I stay alive. I think it’s safe to say that I’m a pretty big fan. However, if there’s one place that I’d like technology to stay away from, it’s my baseball…

In August of 2008, instant replay was brought to baseball strictly for the use of determining fair or foul home runs. It wasn’t actually used until May of 2009 and for the most part, it hasn’t played any role in saving someone’s life. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was in favor of bringing instant replay to baseball, but only for the limited purpose of determining fair or foul home runs. He felt this would keep the game honest and assure that no team would win a game on a walk off foul ball. This is an understandable desire, in my opinion, however I was against the instant replay.

Now, with the blown calls by umpires in the 2009 post season, the instant replay debate seems to be heating up again. What about bringing instant replay for fair vs. foul balls on the field? Balls and strikes? The elusive “tie goes to the runner?” Or deciding if a shoe string catch was really just a trap? After the Yankees defeated the Phillies in World Series Game 2 (also the game where Ryan Howard “caught” a sinking line drive and turned a double play, which turned out to have been a skipped ball and everyone should have been safe), Selig gave a statement about expanding instant replay saying, “Affecting the game on the field is not something I really want to do.” And I couldn’t be more with him.

In a time when, at a baseball game, I see one person watching the game for every person I see locked into their cell phone, I like the human element of baseball. I like there there are errors. By the players and the umpires. I like that not every umpire calls the same strike zone (though, I do wish they would keep their own strike zone for the game). I like that the players have to adapt. It gives them more ownership of the game and I respect their abilities more when I know there’s a potentially unpredictable element to the game: the human umpire. I understand umpires blow calls. I’ve been an umpire and a player before. I know how frustrating it is to be yelled at by a coach and how frustrating it is to be a coach and want to yell at an umpire. However, my one missed call is likely not the reason your team lost the game. And if you want to claim it is, you’ve got an issue with making up excuses and not facing the truth.

Having instant replay for a home run makes sense to me. One swing of the bat in baseball can result in a run, which, in a tie game in the bottom of the 9th inning can result in a win. However, asking for the game to be stopped to review balls and strikes (among other things) seems ridiculous to me. If a batter strikes out by looking at the third strike and your team loses the game, you probably should blame the 8 and 2/3 innings before the last out. The vast majority of the time, while an umpire can have an effect on a game, the team wins or loses the game, not the umpires. Certainly, there are exceptions. But in baseball, aside from the home run, so many steps have to be taken to score a run. I can remember plenty of times growing up and, as a player, wishing there was an instant replay so the umpire would know I didn’t leave a base early. Or that the strike the umpire had just called was at my ankles. However, I think I learned more as a player when I realized I had to take my own initiative rather than rely on something making the game “fair.” If we’re really concerned about making something with a human element more fair, we should be working on our medical technology rather than squandering our time complaining over whether or not Ryan Howard caught a ball.

In other baseball news… Larussa is back for 2010! And so is Mark McGwire! I heard this news in the Seattle-Tacoma airport on Tuesday and almost choked on a swedish fish while standing in line waiting to board my plane. And I still haven’t had time to wrap my brain around this. While steroids could be responsible for the number of home runs a person hits, I don’t think they can be held responsible for the technique of a swing. What do you think? Is a second chance for Big Mac fair?

And, in other other baseball news, why are we still playing baseball in November? This needs to change.

Annie is the Sports and Fitness Editor for Girls Guide. She writes about all kinds of sports related topics and then really goes out and plays sports almost every evening. You can contact Annie by emailing her at annie [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and we are still trying to talk her into getting a Twitter account – no success yet.