Major League Baseball to begin expanded instant replay testing in Arizona Fall League

Major League Baseball will begin testing expanded instant replay in the Arizona Fall League next week, sources told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

The league will begin testing instant replay at the Salt River Fields, the home of AFL team Salt River Rafters. MLB has installed equipment at the field to study the technological and pace-of-play concerns regarding expanded instant replay, according to Passan.

The testing is the first step towards MLB instituting instant replay on a much larger scale starting in 2014. Currently, instant replay is only used at the major league level to determine home runs.

MLB owners accepted a proposal in August that will significantly change how instant replay works if the plan is ratified during owner meetings in November. The biggest change involves how plays are reviewed; under the current proposal, managers will receive three challenges during the game, one in the first six innings and two during the final three innings.

The AFL testing will likely determine the method to the manager challenges and if the number of challenges needs to be amended, writes Passan.

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