Instant Replay is Coming to Major League Baseball

Hey baseball fans, get ready for some big changes to the game you love.

Earlier today, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that the 30 MLB owners gave broad approval to a plan to introduce an expanded instant replay system and manager challenges to big-league baseball. It still needs to be formally approved by the owners, which is expected to happen at their quarterly meeting in November, and OK'ed by the MLB Players Association and World Umpires Association. Stiil, "it's a historic day," Selig said.

Here's how the plan would work:

Managers would get three challenges per game. They can use one anytime in the first six innings, but can't use the other two until the seventh inning. When a manager challenges a play, it will be reviewed by a team at MLB HQ, not the umpires on the field. If a manager wins the challenge and a play is overturned, he gets to keep the challenge. But if the play stands, he loses the challenge. And what plays can be challenged? Pretty much everything but pitch calls and hit-by-pitches. After a manager runs out of challenges, umpires can still review home runs as they do now.

This plan was developed by Selig, MLB vice president and former Yankees and Dodgers manager Joe Torre, special advisor and former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, and Braves president John Schuerholz. It was a reaction to growing protests about blown calls that have cost some teams games and a few pitchers perfect games and no-hitters. 

Sports Illustrated's The Strike Zone blog has lots more on the proposal.

Tell us what you think: Does baseball need an instant replay or challenge system? Is this proposal good enough?

Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images