Major League Baseball Adds Super-High Tech Replay Call Reviews

A technician works in front of a bank of TV screens at Major League Baseball's Replay Operations Center in New York.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

The new system will debut in Sunday night's Dodgers-Padres game...

The final decisions on a manager's challenge will be made at the command center in New York. It's taken out of the on-field umpires' hands, leaving the manager much less to argue...

The basic guidelines:

-- A manager gets one challenge per game and another if he wins his first challenge. If he's out of challenges after the sixth inning, he can encourage umpires to have a play reviewed at their discretion.

-- A challenge must be made before the pitcher steps onto the rubber and the batter steps into the box. To challenge a third out, the manager has 30 seconds. To challenge the final out, the manager must act immediately.

-- A team's video adviser can examine the replay and tip off the manager as to whether the umpire's call should be challenged...

-- To challenge, the manager notifies the umpires on the field, and a technician emerges to hook up the crew chief with New York.

-- Twelve camera feeds are to be positioned at every ballpark, all accessible in New York. An overhead camera will be used to help umpires determine placement of runners if a call is overturned.