Ballgames That Begged for Instant Replay

Baseball history might be different if these games had come under review

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 28, 2008 5:45 PM CDT

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Ballgames That Begged for Instant Replay — Executive vice president of baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon explains some aspects of the new instant replay capabilities to the media at MLB.com in New York yesterday. (AP Photo)

With instant replay now available to Major League Baseball umpires (at least for some calls), USA Today looks at some famous games where it might have come in handy:

Oct. 1, 2007, tiebreaker for National League wild card: Padres’ catcher Michael Barrett maintains that the Rockies’ Matt Holliday didn’t actually touch the plate while scoring the winning run, but the umpire disagreed.

Oct. 9, 1996, American League Championship Game 1: 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier clearly deflects Derek Jeter’s fly ball into the stands; umps call it a home run, and Yankees go on to beat Baltimore in the game and series.
Oct. 26, 1985, World Series, Game 6: Umpire Don Denkinger calls Kansas City's Jorge Orta safe on an infield grounder leading off the bottom of the ninth; Orta was easily out, and the Royals forced a Game 7, which they won.

(More baseball stories.)

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