On September 3, 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays faced the New York Yankees in St. Petersburg. In the ninth inning, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez sent a towering fly ball down the left-field line. The ball sailed over the foul pole and struck one of Tropicana Field’s catwalks.
Third base umpire Brian Runge ruled it a home run, but Rays manager Joe Maddon disagreed with the call. Crew chief Charlie Reliford and the other umpires discussed the play before turning to MLB’s newly adopted instant replay system.
For the first time in Major League Baseball history, an on-field call was reviewed using video. The footage was examined through MLB Advanced Media in New York, and about two minutes later, the original home run call was upheld.
The Rays lost the game 8 to 4, but the night marked a much bigger victory for technology in baseball. What happened inside Tropicana Field that evening changed how close calls would be handled across Major League Baseball.
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