Ethics Musings As The Baseball Season Begins…

/ Jack Marshall

Technically the baseball season began last night, but that was just a Yankee game so I decided to hold this post until this morning.

As I wrote to my email pal, the excellent MLB correspondent for the Boston Red Sox Ian Browne, “Well, the new season is upon us! Here’s how sappy I am: just played “Tessie” and got choked up, then looked at my photo of Tony Conigliaro from 1967, and got more choked up. Where the Sox are concerned, I’m always 12-years-old.” And I posted this iconic photo…

… from legendary Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. I was there, but I didn’t see Carlton trying to guide his game-winning blast fair. I was watching, as everyone else was, that ball sail into the night and over the Green Monster.

Baseball takes up a lot of my time, and it’s time I cannot afford, one could argue. Yet I have learned as much about ethics and life from the sport, and particularly the Boston Red Sox’s epic journey through it, than from all other aspects of my experience combined. I have learned about loyalty, bravery, sacrifice, honesty, duty, responsibility, coping with disappointment and finding solace in failure, nobility, respect, the chaos of existence, and that there is always hope, promise and redemption in the future—maybe.

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6 thoughts on “Ethics Musings As The Baseball Season Begins…”

    • just saw a 3-0 strike call get reversed in the Twins-Oriole game.
      worked fast and the challenge was justified.

      there should not be a limit on challenges.
      that challenge ended up being meaningless, but it was justified

      -Jut

      Reply

      • “there should not be a limit on challenges.”

        Essentially, there is no limit on challenges providing you don’t get 2 failed challenges.

        1. Challenge Allotment

        • Two Challenges Per Team: Each team starts a nine-inning game with two challenges.
        • Successful Challenge Retention: If a team challenges a call and the call is overturned, they retain that challenge.
        • Lost Challenges: If the original call is upheld, the team loses that challenge.
        • Extra Innings: If a game goes to extra innings, teams that have zero challenges remaining receive one new challenge for the 10th inning, and in subsequent innings, and so on.

        2. Who Can Challenge and How

        • Eligible Players: Only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can initiate a challenge. Managers, coaches, and dugout personnel cannot initiate a challenge.
        • Signaling: The player must immediately tap their cap or helmet to alert the umpire.
        • Timing: The challenge must be made immediately after the call (roughly within two seconds). The umpire can disallow a challenge if it is not timely.
        • No Outside Help: Players cannot receive help from the dugout or other teammates to decide whether to challenge.
        • Disallowed Challenges: The umpire can refuse a challenge if they believe it was aided by others, or if it was not requested in time.

        3. The Review Process

        • Technology: The system uses 12 Hawk-Eye cameras per stadium to track the exact location of the pitch.
        • The Strike Zone: The zone is a 2D rectangle, 17 inches wide, across the middle of the plate, with the top of the zone set at 53.5% of the batter’s height and the bottom at 27%.
        • Review Mechanism: When a challenge is made, a 3D animated graphic of the pitch location is immediately displayed on the stadium’s videoboard and to home viewers on the broadcast.
        • Outcome: The call is either confirmed or overturned, taking about 15 seconds, and the game continues.

        4. Special Scenarios

        • Not Available for Position Pitchers: A pitch cannot be challenged if a position player is pitching.
        • Base Runner Impact: If a challenge impacts runner placement, the umpire will determine if the call influenced the outcome of a play (e.g., a steal attempt) and adjust runner positions accordingly.
        • Venue Exceptions: The system will not be used in the 2026 Mexico City Series, Field of Dreams game, or the Little League Classic, as the infrastructure cannot support it. 

        5. Strategy

        Because teams retain challenges on success, the system encourages strategic use of challenges for high-leverage situations, such as crucial 2-strike counts or late-inning at-bats.

        Reply

        • Still: stupid.

          The challenge I saw was resolved faster than even a booth review in the NFL.

          If Jack wants “perfection,” and the computer box can give it, I would be happy to make all balls and strikes be by robo-ump.

          Baseball is probably the sport that could do it most effectively and efficiently.

          At the same time, I am a bit biased. I saw it used once; it was successful; and it was on a legitimately close call.

          The perfect storm; no abuse by anyone, and everything went off smoothly.

          If batters and catchers all acted ethically (meaning catchers can’t frame a pitch, which I still saw today), there is no reason not to have unlimited challenges.

          If catcher can still deceive umps by framing a pitch, that is another reason for unlimited challenges.

          -Jut

          Reply

          • Well, I just printed the rules for the ABS system. Personally, I couldn’t care less about baseball. I haven’t watched a baseball game in over 2 decades after the steroid era.

            Reply

          • Sox LF Roman Anthony challenged a strike three call with two outs in the 9th in a 1-0 game. The pitch was a ball, he walked, and it led to two runs that wouldn’t have scored last year.

            Reply

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