Manager Challenge

Definition

Each club receives two manager challenges to start each All-Star Game and postseason game and one manager challenge to start every other game. All reviews are conducted at the Replay Command Center, which is located at Major League Baseball Advanced Media headquarters in New York, by replay officials -- full-time Major League umpires who work shifts at the Replay Command Center in addition to their on-field work. Replay officials review all calls subject to replay review and decide whether to change the call on the field, confirm the call on the field or let stand the call on the field due to the lack of clear and convincing evidence.

A manager may challenge as many reviewable calls within a single play as he desires using one challenge. The club retains its manager challenge if the replay official overturns any challenged call (even if he upholds other challenged calls), and loses its manager challenge if no calls are overturned. Once a club has exhausted its available manager challenge(s), it will no longer have the ability to challenge any additional play or call in the game.

Managers must hold their hands up immediately after a play to signal to the umpires that they are considering a challenge. Once the manager alerts the umpire to a potential challenge, the umpire will initiate a 15-second timer. The manager must then decide whether to challenge the call on the field before that timer reaches zero. Otherwise, any challenge request would be denied.

Both managers may challenge different reviewable calls within the same reviewable play, and the replay official shall review the challenged calls in the order in which the calls occurred during the game. If the decision of the replay official on an earlier reviewable call renders moot a later reviewable call, the subsequent call shall not be reviewed and that club shall not be charged with the challenge.

The manager must ensure that the umpire knows the specific calls for which he is seeking replay review, but the manager need not state the reason for his belief that the call was incorrect. Moreover, the replay official shall have no authority to review any calls other than those included in a manager's challenge or those accepted for review by the crew chief.

History of the rule

Major League Baseball instituted replay review -- to be used at the umpire's discretion -- on disputed home run calls (fair or foul, in or out of the ballpark, fan interference) on Aug. 28, 2008.

Replay review was expanded starting in the 2014 season, giving managers one challenge to start the game and allowing them to challenge two times in total provided the first challenge resulted in an overturned call. In addition, a much wider range of calls were made subject to review.

Replay review was modified again in 2015, permitting managers to retain their challenge after every overturned call; allowing them to signal for a challenge during an inning without approaching the umpire on the field; and providing two challenges for any All-Star Game, postseason game and Divisional or Wild Card tiebreaker game. The list of calls that were subject to review was also expanded again in 2015 and 2016.