Moment #92: Baseball Finally Expands Instant Replay | MLB's ALL-TIME MOMENTS

This MLB offseason, we are starting a countdown of the 100 greatest moments in baseball history. These moments helped make the game what it is today. They all had an impact in the short or long term and endure to this day in the hearts and minds of baseball fans everywhere. We continue with #92: baseball's expanded use of instant replay, helping bring them into the 21st century.

There is a debate that, perhaps more than any other, pits baseball purists against new baseball fans. How much instant replay should there be in baseball and how much of an impact should it have on the game? Baseball, a game run on tradition more than any of the United States' other major sports, was the last to adopt major replay rules. Unbelievably, baseball didn't use any form of replay prior to the 2008 season. For reference, NFL's first version of instant replay came in 1986, NHL used its in 1991, NBA in 2002-03.

MLB initially used replay for one reason: to review home runs. This seemed like an inefficient use of replay. How many times a season is there a home run that is a close enough call to actually review? The answer in its first year of existence was seven. The first overturned call came at Tropicana Field where a Carlos Pena hit that was initially ruled fan interference was overturned to a home run. Just seven plays were reviewed out of the entire season. Think of what a low percentage that is. Everyone has to start somewhere, though.

Expanded and modern replay began in the 2014 season and included far more than just home run calls. The new rules called for instant replay to be used to determine: ground-rule doubles, fan-interference calls, boundary calls, force plays at all bases except when turning a double play at second base, tag plays, fair/foul calls, catch/trap plays, whether or not a runner scored from third before a tag play for a third out, whether a runner passed up another runner, and other scorekeeping issues.

Modern replay was instituted the following season in 2015 when coaches challenges and other changes were made. This now has baseball purists scared of what's to come. Could umpires be replaced by high-tech machines that have a laser-precise strike zone? How much would that take away from the human element of the game?

On the flip side, modern replay could have prevented a wide range of umpire errors, including Jeffrey Maier's interference on what became a Derek Jeter home run in 1996. Armando Galarraga would also be immortalized in baseball history books as one of just 24 pitchers to ever throw a perfect game and poor umpire Jim Joyce wouldn't have to keep going on, knowing he cost Galarraga his shot at one of baseball's greatest achievements.

There is no telling where instant replay in baseball will go in the future, but we know it isn't going to be scaled back any time soon. If the goal is getting the call right, which it should be, MLB seems to be getting more calls right and correcting more incorrect calls. However, its current system is also at odds with the league's initiative to speed up games. Often, replays take several minutes, even when it seems like a relatively straightforward call.

One thing is certain: baseball purists and a new generation of baseball fans will be at odds over the future of instant replay and each side has a legitimate argument. While the 10+ years of baseball replay have already changed the history of the sport, it is in the next 10 years where we will likely see the most significant changes to the sports complexion through its replay-review system.