Baseball was supposed to become smarter, not colder. Yet, in the age of analytics-driven perfection, the 30 teams in MLB find themselves grappling with a reality where million-dollar arms are reduced to mere data points. The human element? An afterthought. And now, Blue Jays’ $15.5 million investment is calling out the game’s so-called progress for what it really is—an unintended mess…

The MLB has been getting big injections of tech in the sport. And the most recent one was the ABS (Automated Ball-Strike) system, which received a green light in its debut at Salt River Fields. Under this system, the teams can challenge the home-plate umpire each per game to review any ball or strike call, where if you are wrong, you lose it. And if you are right, you maintain that challenge. But Max Scherzer is not talking about that.

He is talking about the replay system, where he is of the thought that it has affected more than the intended part of the game. This system is put in place in MLB to provide a timely review of certain disputed calls and is initiated by a manager challenge or by the umpire chief crew. The Replay Command Center where all the reviews are conducted by the review officials, is located at the Major League Baseball Advanced Media headquarters in New York.

Coming back to the matter at hand, during an interview with Foul Territory, Blue Jays pitcher, Max Scherzer revealed why the players were asking for the replay system and how it impacted the game. He said, “Now, what’s the unintended consequence of having replay in the game? Now, when you slide in the second, you can be safe by a mile, and your cleat comes off by just an inch, and all of a sudden now, you’re out.”

Every base umpire has to make close calls and sometimes it might go as intended. And that is exactly the reason they brought in the technology and replay systems. Now, the 40-year-old is complaining about it? He says that even if you reach the base in time but for a split second that you lose contact with the base, you are called out if tagged. But isn’t that how baseball works?

He says that the players didn’t want it implied for that part of the play, and they were not trying to take the neighborhood play out of the game. But you can’t have it both ways, can you? You either apply it in all the parts of baseball from home runs to tag outs or don’t apply it at all. I think most of the players would choose the former.

Baseball wanted precision, and now it’s getting it—down to the last millimeter of a runner’s cleat. Players can argue about “intent,” but once Pandora’s Replay Box is opened, there’s no shutting it. If perfection is the goal, then welcome to baseball’s new era: where being “safe” is never truly safe.

Even at 40, Max Scherzer remains Baseball’s ultimate competitor

Some pitchers age like fine wine while others age like expired milk. Then there’s Max Scherzer—still throwing gas, still terrifying hitters, and still refusing to acknowledge that time exists. While most players his age are reminiscing about their prime, Scherzer is out here proving this isn’t over yet.

After his trade to the Blue Jays which saw a one-year contract for $15.5 million, Scherzer had many fans questioning will he still be able to perform at the top level. And he has replied with a four-seam fastball right at their heads, saying it is not over until he says it is. On February 26, Scherzer made his debut for the Blue Jays and that game went as intended for him.

Max Scherzer pitched a total of 2 innings with 4 strikeouts. If this is not good, then what is? After the game, he said, “I’m just trying to get sped up to game speed. You can throw as many bullpens as you want in the world, but that’s not real. You need to get out there and face hitters.”

He went on to then discuss the importance of spring training and how it is helping him get to the level the game demands. He also didn’t want to overanalyze anything just yet and wanted to focus on health and performance.

Scherzer isn’t here for nostalgia—he’s here to dominate. At 40, he’s still firing heaters and proving that age is just another number on the scoreboard. If Father Time wants a showdown, he better step into the batter’s box.