Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Major league baseball teams are gearing up for the season, and a recent Grapefruit League game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies proved unsuccessful when testing expanded instant replay in Spring Training.

According to a Phillies news item over at MLB (News - Alert).com, in a play in the bottom of the seventh inning, an umpire called John Mayberry out on his double to right field in trying to reach third. It was a challenging decision, and, according to replay official Phil Cuzzi, the replay screen was blank.

"The lights went out, and they lost everything," said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg. "I went out and he was giving me an inkling that he had missed it, so he had no hesitation. He said, 'Do you want to challenge it?' And I said, 'Absolutely.' And then we get over there and nobody has anything. He showed a little frustration with that."

There was a storm earlier that day which delayed the first pitch by an hour, but it apparently had a longer-lasting effect that no one could have anticipated.

This highlights the need to plan for every contingency, even in MLB.

Power protection is usually something that’s discussed among business professionals whose livelihoods rely on mission-critical data and the ability to stay always-on, no matter the circumstance. For the MLB, it really is no different. It is a large corporation just like any other, and since so many plays rely on rules and gaming officials to properly make calls based on said rules, a power blip is obviously something that can lead to confusion.

Since this was just a practice game, the outcome wasn’t too terrible, but if this were a season game, it would certainly add an element of panic to an already difficult situation.

Baseball season is right smack in the middle of rainy season for a lot of the country, and finishes right up when hurricane season is at its peak. Power protection means protection during hurricane season, and all year for that matter, whether you’re operating one of America’s largest franchises or a small public relations firm from your basement.

Minuteman Power Technologies, a provider of unique power protection solutions, offers an array of products geared toward the educational sector, from outlet surge protectors to UPSs (uninterruptible power supplies).