Instant replay pushed for August

NEW YORK – Instant replay might be coming to Major League Baseball in an instant.

Moving faster than expected and coming after a rash of blown calls, baseball wants to put replay into effect by August for home run disputes in hopes of fine-tuning the system by the playoffs.

MLB and the umpires’ union need to reach agreement before replay can be tried, and the sides have started talking. Previously, it was thought replay would get its first look in the Arizona Fall League and then the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB’s executive vice president for baseball operations, is pushing for replay by Aug. 1; Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive vice president of labor relations, suggested Aug. 15.

“It’s all still premature,” MLB spokesman Rich Levin said Friday. “A final decision has not been made.”

USA Today first reported on its website Friday that baseball planned to use replay this season.

Commissioner Bud Selig will ultimately decide when MLB wants to put replay in place. A staunch opponent in the past, he has been leaning toward its limited use after a spate of missed boundary calls – fair or foul, over the fence or not – last month.

The NFL, NBA, NHL, some NCAA sports and major tennis tournaments all employ replay in various forms.

Last month, after Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees lost home runs because of missed calls, umpires said they were open for discussion.

Umpires, however, remain adamant that they do not want replay used to review close plays on the bases or ball-and-strike calls.