Scooter Chapman

Officials in soccer and baseball have come in for some intense scrutiny in the past couple of months as there have been so many close calls and no calls and so-called bad calls from referees in both sports.

The most glaring of the bad calls came a couple of months ago when a major league umpire at first base called a runner safe when the runner clearly was out and it cost the pitcher a no-hit game, the kind of game every pitcher dreams of.

Even though, upon seeing the instant replays, the umpire admitted he blew the call, he could not change the call and apologized. The pitcher accepted the apology and life went on.

Had it been an ordinary game, nothing would've been written or said about the first-base call, but since it was in a no-hit situation, it's still being written and talked about.

Add instant replay?

Should instant television replay be used to look at and change or not change every judgment call by an umpire in major league baseball? I think not. I don't even like the so-called tracer on television that shows where every pitch enters the strike zone.

As for the soccer stuff, it's tough enough to be a soccer referee and especially in the World Cup.

I never have refereed a soccer game at any level, but the referee is the only official. He or she alone can call fouls, handballs, rules infractions of any kind, and it's especially tough to determine offsides.

Again, normal calls don't elicit a lot of comments from coaches or teams or reporters, but a normal call in a "big game" is magnified to the extent soccer referees often are taken from the list of officials after the game is over.

Soccer doesn't have television instant replay, and I don't think it is needed.

Football makes use of instant replay and basketball does as well, but in the round ball sport, it only is used to determine clock issues.

Rule book in action

So you want to be an umpire? Try this on for size.

A runner is on third base with one out when the batter hits a ground ball to the first baseman, who throws toward home in an attempt to retire the base runner, but the ball strikes the batter, who is running in fair territory about 20 feet from first base.

The plate umpire calls the batter out for 3-foot lane interference. Is that correct?

No. The umpire is in error. Three-foot lane interference can only occur on a play going to first base. To call the batter out in high school, ASA, NCAA, slowpitch or fastpitch, that batter would have had to interfere intentionally with the fielder's throw.

Reach Scooter Chapman at scooter@olypen.com.