Expanded Replay utilized for first time Monday

Monday was a historic day for Major League Baseball. Expanded instant replay was used for the first time in baseball history in the Blue Jays - Twins game at Hammond Stadium.

In the sixth inning in their 12-2 win over the Blue Jays, Twins outfielder Chris Rahl hit a grounder to shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, who proceeded to make a high throw to Jared Goedert. Umpires ruled Goedert off the bag and called Rahl safe. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons came out and asked for a challenge of the play.

Two minutes and thirty-four seconds later, umpires ruled that Rahl was safe and that Goedert was in fact off of the bag. 

A second replay happened in the eighth, when Doug Bernier hit a grounder to shortstop Kevin Nolan. Bernier was called safe, and the ruling was upheld after another review. This time, the umpires decided to review the call, as managers only can review a maximum of two plays during the first six innings. 

The Twins and Blue Jays were two of the four teams piloting replay on Monday. The Angels and Diamondbacks also had replay in effect, and a call was upheld in their game as well.

Instant replay was implemented during the off-season in an effort to fix umpire's mistakes during the game. Managers will receive two challenges in the first six innings, and can request the crew chief to review calls following that time. They cannot challenge themselves past the sixth inning. 

Some televised Spring Training games will continue to have instant replay in the upcoming weeks.