Tagged As: World Series, Sports, MLB Playoffs

In this new political atmosphere in the midst of an economy that appears to be on the brink of disaster because of shady business practices and a ground breaking presidential election the new trend is for transparency. This trend is slowly creeping into every aspect of our American lives, including sports.

Yesterday, for the second time in two days, the umpires calling the World Series admitted that they missed a key play. This time it was in the first inning of Game 4 when Jimmy Rollins got caught in a run down and was called safe on his retreat back to third base. Replays, seen nation wide by the largest audience to watch this World Series so far, showed that Rollins was tagged clearly on the bum by Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. The play ended up being significant because Pat Burrell walked with the bases loaded, scoring Rollins.

The question is, is this a good thing? It has been an American tradition to openly mock umpires for missing calls and hypothesize that the league has a vendetta against our team. It almost helps the “us against the world” mentality that sports fans have with regards for their team. By publicly admitting that the human element in sports (a genre like I think is simply politics without all that pesky national socio-economic fall out) is faulty it takes away from that traditional separation of the game on the field and destroying that fourth wall that separated the fan from the game.

The fans should not have sympathy for the ump or really any kind of personal relationship with the man (or woman) wearing the chest protector, leaning over the catchers shoulder. Fans should only have hopeless devotion for their team. They should think that each game is some sort of chapter in a grand story of destiny with a clear three act structure.

Bad calls are part of the game, simply put. Instant replay is already being used for home runs and it is slowly becoming justified as part of the every aspect of the game. Fairness and sports have never truly been one and the same, that is part of the beauty of sports.

I would much rather see this…

Than this…

And to end this post on a non sequitur, perhaps the most amazing pitch ever thrown…

World Series Tickets