Joe Torre On WFAN: MLB 'Very Close' To Expanded Replay System
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Major League Baseball vice president of operations Joe Torre says the league is "very close" to nailing down a system for expanded instant replay.
During an interview Thursday on WFAN radio, Torre said replay -- currently in place for home runs -- won't be available for every call under the to-be-determined new rules. MLB owners are expected to vote on expanded replay during their meetings in November.
"We're very close," Torre told WFAN's Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts. "We just still have to figure out what the process is going to be and what the trigger is going to be for sure."
There was a lot of talk this summer about the trigger being an NFL-style challenge, where managers would receive a certain number of opportunities to correct a call during a game.
Joe Torre
"Not that initially I was crazy about that, but if you think of all the other options, that seems to be a reasonable way to do it," Torre said.
Torre wasn't too concerned about the possibility of a manager's challenge coming on a humdrum play just to buy relievers some time to warm up.
"I guess that's always possible," he said. "But I think it's a valuable thing to lose as far as using one of your challenges. I don't think we plan on giving them a lot of them, if that's the way we go. I think they're going to be too valuable to use in that regard.
"There are other ways that they can be creative in getting some more time."
The umpires and players' union would have to agree to any changes.
More from Torre:
On the overturned call in Game 1 of the World Series: "We always encourage them to work as a team. ... As it turned out, the other five umpires saw something different. So it worked out fine."
Is he interested in the Commissioner's job? "By the time (Bud Selig steps down) I'll be 74. ... If somebody asked me -- 'Would you do something that would help the game?' -- I certainly would volunteer for that. But I think long-term is what the owners should be looking at, and I think they will."
On Don Mattingly's future in Los Angeles: "I talked to Donnie yesterday and he seemed fairly confident that he was going to be back there (with the Dodgers). He seemed alright on the phone. So hopefully they work something out and everything is smoothed over."
On Boston sneaking up on the Yankees' record for most consecutive wins in the World Series: "I don't root against anybody, but it would be nice if somebody else beat them here in the meantime."
On the A-Rod PED suspension saga: "I know the Commissioner is really bent on making sure that we gain the trust of the people back. But it is a sad thing to see in the paper every day, things about baseball that seem to be devious, according to certain people. I certainly don't like that part of it.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
