Joe West
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- This article is about the Major League Baseball umpire. For other people named Joe West, see Joe West (disambiguation).
| 22 - Joe West | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Umpire Joe West (left) ejects Ozzie Guillen during a dispute June 24, 2007 versus the Chicago Cubs | ||
| MLB debut | ||
| 1976 | ||
| Umpiring Crew | ||
| J | ||
| Crew Members | ||
| Joe West (Crew Chief) | ||
| Ed Rapuano | ||
| C. B. Bucknor | ||
| Ed Hickox | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| Two All- Star Games (1987, 2005) Three Division Series (1995, 2002, 05) Seven League Championship Series (1981, 86, 88, 93, 96, 2003-04) Three World Series (1992, 97, 2005) |
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Joseph Henry West (born October 31, 1952) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League in 1976 and from 1978 to 1999, and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He is a crew chief. Nicknamed "Cowboy Joe", he is also known for being a singer/songwriter. He has umpired in the World Series in 1992, 1997, and 2005, serving as crew chief on the last occasion. He also umpired in the All-Star Game in 1987 and 2005, calling balls and strikes the second time. He has officiated in 7 League Championship Series (NL: 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1996; AL 2003, 2004) and 3 Division Series (NL 1995; AL 2002 and 2005). He wears number 22.
His crew in 2007 included C. B. Bucknor, Ed Rapuano and Ed Hickox. For 2008, West is the crew chief of Crew J, which also includes Bucknor, Hickox, and Rapauno.
[edit] Background
West was born in Asheville, North Carolina. Like fellow umpire Ron Luciano, West played collegiate football. He played at East Carolina University as a freshman and was a three-year starting quarterback at Elon College, winning the MVP award in 1973 there when Elon was ranked number two in NAIA Division I. The 1973 Elon team lost the National Championship Game for Division 1 to an Abilene Christian team lead by furture Dallas Cowboy Quarterback Clint Longley and future Eagle Hall of Famer Wilber Montgomery. West held three passing records at Elon until just recently and was inducted into the Elon College Sports Hall of Fame in the same class with Kay Yow (NC State Girls Basketball Coach).
Starting in minor league umpiring, West worked in the Western Carolinas League (1974; inducted into the Western Carolina League Hall of Fame in 2002), Carolina League (1975), Florida Instructional League (1974-1976), Southern League (1975-76), American Association (1976-77), and Puerto Rican Winter League (1977).
When he broke into major league umpiring on September 13, 1976, he was only 23. He worked 8 games that year. Five years later, West worked in the 1981 NLCS at the age of 28, the youngest umpire to ever work in the NLCS. He worked in seven more after that, and also three World Series. During the 1999 season, West resigned as part of a controversial union strategy which backfired; however, he was ordered rehired by Arbitrator Alan Symonette with full back pay and benefits because Major League Baseball didn't retain umpires on the basis of skill and merit. Even as late as February of 2002 Sandy Alderson, Executive Vice President in charge of umpiring, tried to keep West off the field. But a federal judge ordered MLB to rehire him. He worked the playoffs his first year back and every year Alderson was in charge of the umpires. The first year Alderson left, West worked the All Star Game, the American League Divisional Playoffs, and the World Series. He was the Crew Chief of all three.
West is known outside of umpiring as a singer/songwriter and has performed with such artists as Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens, Bobby Mackey, Box Car Willie, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Jason Scheff, Skunk Baxter, Les Dudek, Rick Seratte, T.G. Sheppard, Ray and Ron Hearndon, The Four Guys, The Jones Boys (George Jones' band), The Statesiders (Mel Tillis' band) and Charlie McCoy and the Hee Haw Band.
Has a country album called "Blue Cowboy" and just finished his second CD called "Diamond Dreams." "Diamond Dreams" tells stories about things that have happened in Baseball and has an uptempo song about going to a baseball game. It's distributed on "Good and Western Records" and will be released February 29, 2008. His daughter Angela Marie West is also a country singer located in the San Diego area.
West appeared in one of The Naked Gun movies as an umpire also.
West designed and patented today's most commonly used chest protector, which is often referred to as the "West Vest", now marketed by Wilson Sporting Goods. He designed all of Wilson's high end umpire's gear and that gear is the only umpire's equipment endorsed by Major League Baseball for use by its umpires.
West founded majorleagueumpires.com and umpirejoewest.com.
West is an avid golfer and a member of the Celebrity Players Tour.
[edit] Career highlights
- September 14, 1976 West umpired his first game in the National League.
- October 13, 1981 West became the youngest National League Umpire to umpire a League Championship Series. He was 28.
- May 9, 1984: West ejected two television cameramen from Shea Stadium when they allowed the Mets to view replays of a controversial play at the plate in which Hubie Brooks was called out. The Mets won the game against Atlanta 3–1, with Ron Darling getting the win.
- In 1986 West was the plate umpire when Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan squared up and set the League Championship record for the most strike outs by the starting pitchers in an LCS.
- West was behind the plate for the first games Dwight Gooden and Greg Maddux ever pitched in the Major Leagues.
- West was behind the plate in the League Championship Game between the Dodgers and Mets when Mets Manager Dave Johnson requested that he check Dodger Pitcher, Jay Howell's glove. West and Crew Chief Harry Wendelstedt agreed that the glove was covered with "pine tar" and Howell was ejected.
- July 23, 1991: After Cincinnati pitcher Rob Dibble threw a ball at Cub Doug Dascenzo and was thrown out of the game, West was bumped by Cubs Andre Dawson in the same game; Dawson was suspended for one game and fined $1000. On the check he wrote to the league, Dawson wrote in the memo "donation to the blind."
- 1990: NL president Bill White was prepared to suspend umpire Joe West for slamming Philadelphia pitcher Dennis Cook to the ground while breaking up an on field brawl, but commissioner Fay Vincent intervened and no discipline was imposed.
- West was the on the crew that worked the first playoff game ever played in Canada (Dodgers at Expos in 1981) and was behind the plate in the first ever World Series Game played in Canada (Braves at Toronto in 1992) and ejected Braves' Manager Bobby Cox for throwing a helmet onto the field.
- West was behind the plate for Willie McCovey's 500th home run and at first base for Nolan Ryan's fifth no-hitter. He was at first base when Pete Rose tied the modern day record in the National League for most consecutive games with a hit and he was behind the plate when he broke it the following day.
- West was the home plate umpire for Clay Buchholz's no hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on September 1, 2007 at Fenway Park, and called a knee-high curveball strike three for the final out.
- West's career has spanned the tenure of Commissioners Bowie Kuhn, Peter Ueberroth, Bart Giammatti, Fay Vincent, and the current Commissioner Bud Selig. At the end of the 2007 season he had umpired 3,781 games... 27th all time.
- Prior to the 2007 post season West had worked 75 post season games... 10th all time for the number of post season games umpired.
