NCAA committee proposes 2-minute limit on replay reviews in crackdown
Kerwin Danley became the first African American umpire crew chief in Major League Baseball when a series of promotions, additions and retirements were announced Thursday.
“I think it’s a significant moment in the history of baseball,” Danley told The Associated Press from Arizona, where he’s working spring training games.
“I’m very honored, very excited to be the first,” he said. “But it’s not just about me. It’s much more than that. It shows African American kids there is something else they can make it in, besides playing.”
The timing of the promotion was extra special to Danley because it came during Black History Month.
“I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls and texts on that. People have noticed,” he said.
Other moves included Alfonso Marquez being elevated to the first Hispanic crew chief born outside the United States, and second overall in MLB history.
Another meaningful move for diversity, Danley said. “Of course it is,” he said. Crew chiefs Jeff Kellogg, Dana DeMuth, Gary Cederstrom and Mike Everitt have retired. Kellogg and Everitt will move into jobs as MLB umpire supervisors.
Dan Iassogna and Jim Reynolds were promoted to crew chiefs.
Ramon De Jesus, who worked his first big league game in 2016 as a minor league fill-in, moved up and became the first Dominicanborn umpire on the MLB staff. Also getting full-time jobs in the majors were Ryan Blakney, Chris Segal and Jansen Visconti.
Nic Lentz also joined the MLB umpire roster, replacing the late Eric Cooper.
A chief oversees each fourman crew. Among other things, they often have the last word on disputes with players, make the call for an umpire replay review or decide when to bring out the tarp for a rain delay.
The 58-year-old Danley has worked two World Series and 10 other postseason rounds, along with two AllStar Games. He called his first game in the majors in 1992 and was hired to the MLB staff in 1998.
Danley played college ball at San Diego State and was a first-team All-America outfielder in 1983 when he batted .399. His teammates with the Aztecs included future Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn — Danley’s roommate — and current Colorado manager Bud Black. In a neat coincidence, Danley was the first base umpire when Gwynn got his 3,000th hit during a 1999 game in Montreal and gave his former teammate a hug by the bag.
Danley began his umpiring career in 1985 in the Northwest League, and kept working his way up through the minors.
When Mike Foltynewicz was asked how long it took him to get over his nightmarish start in Game 5 of the NL Division Series, he said “two or three days.”
The Atlanta Braves pitcher said he quickly turned his attention to wife Brittany, son Mike and daughter Lola. They not only supported the former all-star but visited when he was demoted by the Braves.
“They’re my biggest support system,” he said during spring training. “They calmed me down and relaxed me.
“You have to get over the social media — that can be pretty hard — and put that stuff away and be a dad and husband.”
The forgettable Game 5 — Foltynewicz left with a 4-0 deficit in the first inning that turned into 10-0, then a 13-1 loss — capped a roller-coaster season.
He missed most of the spring last year because of an arm injury that led to a bone spur in his right elbow and a trip to the 10-day disabled list in late March.
After an All-Star season in 2018 that saw him go 13-10 with a 2.85 earned-run average and finish eighth in Cy Young voting, Foltynewicz started 0-3 record with an 8.02 ERA after his first four 2019 starts. With a 2-5 mark and 6.22 ERA by June 22, Foltynewicz was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett for six weeks.
When he returned, Foltynewicz won six straight. He finished the regular season with an 8-6 record and lowered his ERA to 4.54.
Players ejected from games for targeting will be allowed to remain in the bench area and replay reviews will be limited to two minutes if proposals by the NCAA football rules committee are passed.
The committee wrapped up several days of meetings in Indianapolis on Friday by issuing its recommendations.
In an effort to crack down on pregame dust-ups between teams, the committee also recommended officials be on the field 90 minutes before a game begins — instead of the current 60 minutes.
NCAA coordinator of officials Steve Shaw said there was a “robust” discussion about what he called the growing trend of defensive players flopping or seemingly faking injuries as a way to slow down offenses trying to run plays quickly. For now, rulemakers will appeal to coaches to clean up an issue that is difficult to legislate away.
Proposals must be approved by the NCAA playing rules oversight panel, which is scheduled to discuss changes April 16. New rules would go into effect for the upcoming season.
The resurgence continued in the postseason when the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Foltynewicz threw a shutout over seven innings vs. the Cardinals in a 3-0 win. He walked none, struck out seven and had four 1-2-3 innings. And then came Game 5. “It was a long season for sure,” he said. “Great playoff game, bad playoff game.
“The reason really had its up and downs. Midseason, things went really south. I had to step up physically and mentally.”
While he said teammates,
Adjustments were made last year to the replay review process for targeting in an effort to have fewer marginal coaches and management continued to encourage him, Foltynewicz said his family visiting him while on road trips in Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina lifted his spirits.
“All this stuff is stressful and creates a lot of anxiety,” he said. “I was an All-Star. When you can’t figure it out and you’re trying your hardest and not feeling right and competing against some of the guys in the world, it’s tough to have confidence. But my family and teammates were there at the end of the day.
“I also had to look at myself in the mirror, I had to look myself in the face and man up.”
Because Foltynewicz missed most of last spring, Braves manager Brian Snitker said he played catch up all year and it finally caught up to him.
“A healthy start is the key to having a good start,” Snitker said. “I think spring training is all about the pitchers. Position players come along before (pitchers) do. Spring training is for the starters. That’s the only reason we have all these games.” fouls called. Shaw said feedback was good and no further adjustments were made to a rule that often draws complaints from players, coaches and fans.
The only potential change to targeting could come after the ejection. Players have been required to leave the field after being ejected, usually escorted off by a coach or staffer in full view of fans. If the proposal passes, ejected players will be allowed to stay on the sideline with teammates, eliminating the so-called walk of shame.
Shaw said the two-minute limit for replay reviews is aimed at efficiency and trying to manage the length of games. He said there was an average of 2.2 replays per game at the FBS level.
“If you’re at two minutes and you don’t know the answer, it’s time to let it stand and not drag the process out,” Shaw said.
The committee said it was concerned about “negative interactions” between teams before officials are on the field during pregame. There were notable pregame incidents last season where players had to be separated before Texas-Oklahoma and the Belk Bowl between Kentucky and Virginia Tech. The Belk Bowl altercation came before officials were on the field.