MLBPA releases statement regarding instant replay, views 2014 as one-year trial

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Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, released the following statement regarding instant replay on behalf of the men on the field:

"As many know, the players agreed to the expanded use of instant replay in 2011, during the last round of collective bargaining. However, today's announcement includes a number of reviewable plays that were not part of those negotiations. Because of the increased number of reviewable plays and the many new procedures that were proposed, Major League Baseball required more than the consent of the players. The issue required full review and negotiation with our union and with the umpires' union before its implementation in 2014. The players look forward to the expanded use of replay this season, and they will monitor closely its effects on the game before negotiating over its use in future seasons."

The union, as the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin tweets, views 2014 as a one-year instant replay trial. 

ESPN's Jayson Stark -- a man who loves a one-sentence paragraph -- has a good piece on what the new system will address:

"And what they ended up with was a system that at least will have the flexibility to fix what La Russa estimated would be almost 90 percent of the calls that can happen on a baseball field near you.

"Just not every night.

"And not every game.

"And not even every inning.

"And that, to me, is the biggest potential flaw in the system baseball is about to unfurl.

"This isn't a system designed to fix all missed calls. Just understand that, OK?

"And it isn't a system designed to get as many calls right, every single game, as technology could allow us to get right.

"And it isn't a system that will even give umpires the authority to check the video, at any point in the first six innings of a game, if no challenges are issued -- even if they're dying to.

"No, it's a system designed, said La Russa, mostly to fix 'the big miss.'

'The game-changing call.'

The call we'd otherwise rerun on 'SportsCenter' 14 times an hour for the next 22 hours.

Welcome to 2014, baseball. 

For more on the agreed-upon system, check out the storyline below.