Change Is In The Air

About 3,000 years ago, Heraclitus of Ephesus left us with these words:

“The only constant in life is change.”

Sports as we know them today were not around when Heraclitus was philosophizing, but somewhere in the cosmos, he may be observing the sports world and thinking, “I told them so,” back in the day.

Let me start with MLB, which is an institution that has only recently acknowledged that change might be beneficial.  It took years to overcome the entrenched thinking that had pervaded baseball and allowed for minor league “experimentation” with a pitch clock.  And what a blessing that turned out to be.  Now, MLB has announced that it will institute a challenge system for balls and strikes in the major leagues starting in 2026.  Most folks are referring to this change as the arrival of “roboumps”; there is reason to think along those lines since the challenge system will rely on technology to resolve any and all challenges that arise.

Here is the outline of how it will work – – at first.  Remember, change is constant so even the milieu of roboumps is necessarily in flux:

• There will still be home plate umpires calling balls and strikes.
• Each team will be allowed to challenge up to two calls per game by the home plate umpire.  [Aside:  Most reports say teams will get “additional challenges” in extra-inning games, but one report said that additional challenges was still “TBD”.  Stay tuned …]
• Challenges will be resolved by a sophisticated camera/tracking system and the results of the pitch that was challenged will be shown on the big-screen scoreboard – – and on TVs at home – – so there is no mystery about robotic judgment.
• Only the pitcher, catcher or batter may initiate the challenge – – but fear not, the managers will insert themselves into that decision making process posthaste.

Baseball has been testing this system in the minor leagues since 2019.  It has been used at the Triple A level for about a year and a half and seems to have reduced the number of protests and ejections that come from disputes on ball/strike calls.  From my perspective, that is a benefit in and of itself.  Baseball rhubarbs come to naught; no matter how much arguing and gesticulating the plaintiff produces, the umpire’s decision is going to stand; the plaintiff there has as much chance of winning as Wile E. Coyote has of catching the Roadrunner.

I read one stat that said even with the tech for roboumps in place even when not used or when calls are not challenged, human umpires get about 95% of the ball/strike calls right.  As a former official – – basketball mainly and not baseball – – I am comfortable with that level of human error in the adjudication processes.  If a baseball game involves 250 pitches, a 5% error rate means only 12 or 13 “mistakes” were made; I can live with that.

However, when I used to watch a game and learned that Angel Hernandez would be the home plate umpire, I immediately adjusted my thinking and expected not only for the error rate to be above 5% but that at least a couple of calls would be outrageous.  So, in that memory, I will always call the roboump, “Angel” because that is who the roboump is replacing.

But wait; there’s more …

The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced yesterday changes to its game that were described as “bold” with the intent to “increase entertainment and innovation.”  In making the announcement, the CFL Commissioner, Stewart Johnston said:

“I commend the Board of Governors for its unwavering commitment to a culture of constant improvement.”

Is Heraclitus of Ephesus on the Board of Governors?

The changes will be phased in over the next two seasons.  Here are the 2026 changes:

• Change the way a point is awarded for a rouge or a single such that a game cannot be decided by a missed field goal or a punt that goes out of the end zone.  A rouge, also known as a single, is one point awarded to a kicking team if a punt or missed field goal goes  into the defenders’ end zone and is not returned out of that end zone.
• A 35-second play clock will automatically begin as soon as the previous play ends with a whistle. Currently, a 20-second play clock does not start until it is manually started by the referee. This change removes ambiguity and inconsistency in timing decisions.

The changes for 2027 are much more significant:

• The field will be shortened from 110 yards to 100 yards.
• The end zones will be reduced from 20 yards to 15 yards
• The goal posts will be moved to the back of the end zones instead of being on the goal lines.  [Aside: That must be at least partially a tip of the hat to player safety.]

I agree that the changes are bold and innovative; the CFL game is already entertaining and exciting; these rules will open more scoring possibilities and encourage teams to “go for it” more often that trying a field goal or punting the ball out of the end zone to earn a point on a rouge.  Assuming that ESPN will continue to air some CFL games in 2026 and 2027, I will be interested to see how this changes the viewing experience.

Finally, let me close today with these thoughts about change:

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”  [Harold Wilson]

And …

“If you want to make enemies, try to change something.”  Woodrow Wilson]

And …

“A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”  [Winston Churchill]

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………