Fansided

How many challenges in MLB

By Mark Powell

Oct 3, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Home plate umpire John Libka (84) makes note of a Cincinnati Reds pitching change against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Home plate umpire John Libka (84) makes note of a Cincinnati Reds pitching change against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Brian Snitker could’ve (and should’ve) challenged a so-called Max Fried error in the first inning of Game 6. He was too focused on a possible injury.

Thankfully for Snitker, it didn’t come back to haunt him. Fried would finish out the inning with relative ease, going through the heart of the Astros order. He also showed no signs of injury.

Challenges in baseball are still a relatively new concept, but give managers the opportunity to alter the course of a game based on instant replay. It also gives umpires the change to rectify bad calls on command. It’s a brilliant system, and one that took far too long to implement.

MLB challenge rules: What are they?

The following is per MLB.com:

"“Each club receives two manager challenges to start each All-Star Game, postseason game and Divisional or Wild Card tiebreaker game, and one manager challenge to start every other game. All reviews are conducted at the Replay Command Center, which is located at Major League Baseball Advanced Media headquarters in New York, by replay officials — full-time Major League umpires who work shifts at the Replay Command Center in addition to their on-field work. Replay officials review all calls subject to replay review and decide whether to change the call on the field, confirm the call on the field or let stand the call on the field due to the lack of clear and convincing evidence.”"

Sounds simple enough, right?

A manager has a 20-second time limit to challenge a play. Certain things cannot be reviewed, however, such as specific balls and strikes. Sadly, we won’t get robot umpires for now. Sorry.

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