I was watching the Tigers game a couple of weeks ago during their west coast trip to Los Angeles when I noticed a blown call at second base. Omar Infante was called out on a force play at second, and it was clear while watching the play live that Infante should have been called safe. Jim Leyland came out to argue the call to no avail, and several instant replays showed that Infante was clearly safe.
I'm sure that the umpires review controversial calls after the game, and when Jim Joyce blew the call that robbed Andres Galarraga of a perfect game a few years ago, Joyce owned it the following day. This is rare in the game of baseball, and rarely do umpires admit fault, especially at levels where there is no instant replay.
The game of baseball keeps statistics on everything. Every pitch, every catch, every out, and every error are recorded, and even when a player doesn't make the spectacular play, he can still be charged with an error.
I propose that error stats should be tracked for umpires at the Major League level. This could also be enforced in the minor leagues, and in the SEC division of college baseball. Basically, error stats on umpires could be tracked only when there is access to video review after each game.
The point of keeping error stats on umpires is not to degrade umpires, or to somehow lessen the smug attitude that some umpires have developed. The point is to hold umpires accountable to their mistakes, while improving the game by allowing the umpires with the fewest errors to work the most important games, like the post season, and the All-Star Game. The umpires' union protects its bad umpires, and by keeping track of error stats, the umpires union could promote their better umpires by letting them work the games that matter most.
Many people insist that adding more instant replay is the answer, but the human element, along with the occasional mistake is the way baseball has always done it. Slowing down the game, and asking managers to officiate the game like the NFL does by issuing challenge flags is not the answer.
Anyone who as ever played the game knows that plenty of double plays occur where the second baseman never touches second base before throwing to first. Sometimes the runner beats out the double play ball at first, but if the double play looks good, the umpire will credit the defense with the out. My point is, where do you draw the line when reviewing or challenging calls? Catchers will sometimes frame a pitch, meaning they take a pitch thrown outside the strike zone, and pull it back into the strike zone and hold it. Should these plays be reviewed? Adding more in game reviews is not the answer for baseball, but maybe adding error stats for umpires is.
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