In the blink of an eye, the play is over, and dust fills the air. Did the umpire see it? Will he make the right call? "He's out," I said to the parents around me, showing the images on the back of my camera. My son, Brandon clearly put the tag on the runner during a pick-off at first base. "Safe," said the ump, and the inning continued. What if there were instant replays in youth sports?

Can you imagine cameras set up on the light poles, pointed at the bases? The team manager reaches to his sock and pulls out a red hankerchief, tossing it onto the infield. The umpire trots over after the close play at the plate, ducks under a black hood and watches the replay film, with parents pacing the field.

Moms and dads quickly rewind their video cameras looking for the game-winning clip. After two minutes, the ump flips on his wireless microphone and announces over the public address system that the runner who was tagged out at the plate, actually scored, because the ball had popped out of the catcher's glove while the tag was made. But none of that mattered anyway, since the long fly ball down the left field line was captured on film from three outfield cameras, bouncing just 1/8 of an inch foul.

O.K., so that's pushing it a bit. But, I did have my son's tag at first on film. Or, in this case, on a compact flash card. At 10 frames per second, it's clear that the runner had his hand on Brandon's knee when the tag was made. All the ump would need to do is peak into the back of my camera through the backstop and I could show him the play. But, would that be fair? Should umpires have extra help from technology, like they do in the NFL games?

Technology has taken over the NFL games. Instant replays, photo analysis of each play from multiple cameras and angles, printed out for teams to view between plays. And the occasional stray video camera caught filming the opposing team's signals! How about the radios in the helmets of players, taking instructions from coaches in hidden booths. We've accepted all that, so what's next. I'm waiting for the quarterback face shield that has digital display like a fighter pilot. Tom Brady fades back to pass, but a sensor in his helmet has tripped a warning for a blitzing tight end in his blind spot. It seems the video games at home and the real ones on the field are getting closer to being one and the same.

The call on the tag didn't really matter that inning. Auburn was ahead in the game, and the runner was caught off first base a pitch later, and tagged out. I'm waiting for the day when fans stop offering their glasses to the umpires after a controversial call, and all run up to the backstop showing him the correct call in the back of their cameras!

-Bob Hammerstrom