There has been a lot of controversy of late about refereeing and umpiring in professional sports. Let's look at baseball specifically. In 2010, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers had a perfect game ruined on an obvious blown call by umpire Jim Joyce. Joyce called the runner safe, when instant replay clearly showed that he was out. However, according to the rules implemented in 2008, instant replay in baseball can only be used to determine: whether a home run was fair or foul, whether the ball actually left the field, or whether the ball was subject to fan interference. This week was the annual Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida and instant replay was certainly discussed. If commissioner (and UW-Madison alum) Bud Selig decides to implement instant replay on safe/out or ball/strike calls, it will be truly innovative to the National Pastime. Personally, I like where the game is at. Baseball should not have a replay system but, that is just my opinion. What do you think? Is it time to innovate baseball?
When we think of innovators, we usually think of inventors, or businessmen. Most people do not think of athletes. I am here to tell you that there might be a new innovator in the world of sports, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The origins of such classic pitches as the four seam fastball and the classic curveball are unknown, but recently, pitchers have been finding new ways to throw the ball. In the 1930s, Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell perfected the screwball (the anti-slider), in the late 1970s, Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter created and perfected the splitter (a dropping fastball), and in the 1990s, future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera invented the cutter (a breaking fastball). Now, in the 2010s, Matsuzaka could be working on inventing and perfecting the "gyroball." Unknown to most American baseball fans, this mysterious pitch creates a spin on the ball with an axis of spin in line with the direction of the throw (like an American football). If perfected, Matsuzaka could continue his career with the Boston Red Sox with as dominating numbers as the innovators Hubbell, Sutter, and Rivera put up before him.
