MLB umpires to announce replay reviews to fans

MLB is following in the footsteps of the NFL, NHL and NBA this spring. 

According to Anthony Castrovince of the MLB website, league umpires will begin using microphones to inform crowds inside ballparks and fans watching via television the outcomes of replay reviews starting with spring training games this weekend. 

Whenever a replay is initiated during a game, the crew chief will face the press box and use a microphone he's wearing to announce the nature of a challenge before he communicates with a replay official. The chief will later return to the spot to announce the outcome of that replay. A similar system will be used for non-challenge situations, such as questionable home-run decisions. 

Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, MLB was initially going to embrace these types of replay announcements for the 2020 season but pushed those plans back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"I think opening up communication with the fans is a step in the right direction," Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch told reporters earlier on Friday. "It'll become mainstream very fast."

Interestingly, Hinch added that some umpires previously "expressed nervousness about speaking publicly in that manner" because doing so was never before part of the job. However, MLB executive vice president Morgan Sword said this system likely would've been installed before this season, but "COVID got in the way of our planning."