Gaby Sanchez against the league's proposal to expand replay

ATLANTA — Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez might seem like an ideal poster child for Major League Baseball's proposal to expand replay next season on fair-or-foul rulings down the lines.

After all, it was Sanchez who thought he'd slapped a game-winning hit down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Phillies on Aug. 5.

Even though replays showed the ball bounced on the chalk, umpire Bob Davidson ruled it a foul ball.

Sanchez struck out and the Marlins lost 5-4 in 10 innings. But Thursday, Sanchez said the league should drop its proposal and leave it up to the umpires.

"It's going to make the game go longer. It's going to take a lot more decisions out of the umpires' hands and that's why they're there," he said about the latest proposal, which includes expanding replay to trapped balls.

A spate of missed calls in the playoffs and World Series prompted the movement to expand replay, which baseball started using in 2008 but only on home run balls.

"I'm in favor of anything that will help umpires get the call right," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "I know (players) want to speed up the game, but they also want the game to be called right."

Wes Helms, the Marlins' union representative, agreed. He laughed and said he wished the replay would've been in effect last season.

"The ball Gaby Sanchez hit, we would have won. That was a key play and it was clearly a fair ball," Helms said. "When I go back and look at plays like that, I am totally for it."



(palmbeachpost.com)