Dick Williams, Hall of Fame Manager Dies

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, who won two World Series titles with Oakland and led two other franchises to pennants, has died. He was 82. Williams died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm at a hospital near his home in Henderson, Nev., the Hall of Fame said in a statement.

Williams, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the veterans’ committee in 2008, was a Major League Baseball manager for 21 years. He won World Series titles with the Athletics in 1972 and 1973, an American League pennant with the Red Sox in 1967 and the National League title with the Padres in 1984.
Other managerial stops for Williams, who had a 1,571-1,451 record as a manager, included the California Angels, Montreal Expos and Seattle Mariners.

Williams also played 13 major league seasons as an outfielder, third baseman and first baseman, retiring with a .260 batting average, 70 home runs and 331 runs batted in.

Williams was an interesting character, a good read is his biography written with Bill Plaschke called No More Mr. Nice Guy.

Now is the time... Instant Replay in Baseball

It's the talk of baseball.  No, not the postseason matchups, everyone is talking about instant replay and the lack of it on certain plays in Major League Baseball.

Last night, San Francisco Giants Buster Posey steals a base, even though replays show he was out, and scores the only run of the Braves/Giants game. 

Even Posey offered up,  "I guess it's a good thing we don't have instant replay right now,” he said after the game.

The umpire that missed the call was Paul Emmel.  He's a good ump, but humans make mistakes.  There have been other missed or blown calls in the other series' as well.  Replay needs to be added, at the very least for the postseason. 

Earlier this season, remember not having instant replay cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game.  Jim Joyce who is an excellent umpire just missed the call.  First base umpire Jim Joyce thought he made the right call. "I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay,” Joyce said after the game.

The technology is there, the public wants it, and I believe it will take pressure off the umpires, who already have a lot on their plate.