Black is on board with expanded replay in Majors

SAN DIEGO -- Expanded use of instant replay could come to Major League Baseball in 2014 and Padres manager Bud Black, for one, is all for it.

"I'm for some expanded replay usage," Black said. "I think it's a good thing."

During the final day of the quarterly Owners Meetings on Thursday, the joint session was briefed on a proposal that would drastically increase the number of plays that can be reviewed, currently limited to boundary calls involving home runs.

The owners will formally vote on the issue at their next meetings in Orlando, Fla., in November. The changes must also be negotiated with both the Major League Baseball Players Association and the World Umpires Association, though the use of review for fair-foul calls and trap plays was incorporated into the most recent Basic Agreement.

"I don't know a lot about it or the mechanics of how it's going to work," Black said. "I know they were going to talk about it today. I just sort of caught wind of what's going on."

A review will be initiated when a manager informs the umpire that he wants to challenge a play. He will be allowed one challenge in the first six innings and two more from the seventh through the end of the game.