https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32338710/record-breaking-umpire-joe-west-retire-postseason
All things considered a very storied career. Angel Hernandez should be next.
West is 68 and not in great shape. Angel is 60 and looks 10 years younger. MLB introducing robot umps is the only way we'll be rid of Angel calling balls and strikes anytime soon.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32338710/record-breaking-umpire-joe-west-retire-postseason
All things considered a very storied career. Angel Hernandez should be next.
Never has to buy a beer while I'm around.He got two really big calls correct. That is what I will choose to remember.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKOt2T70SBgThanks for the Bellhorn homer and the A-Rod slap you [redacted]
That quote was about Angel Hernandez.Tito summed it up perfectly earlier this year (when West called an out on a ball that dropped on the warning track and then decided on his own where the runners should be and how many outs there were):
"Why do these things always happen when you're the umpire?".
It would instantly make the sport so much better.I‘ll say this in any thread where it’s remotely relevant: robo balls/strikes calling needs to be urgently implemented. Whatever kinks might need to be worked out over time to that system, the travesty of watching so many terrible calls in real time on tv is discrediting the game every half inning by half inning.
d'oh… you're absolutely right. I got their stubbornness to admit they're wrong confused.That quote was about Angel Hernandez.
At the US Open tennis tournament, where they didn’t even have line judges or challenges, no one missed them and the matches just zipped along cuz there’s nothing to argue about. It was so much better for both the players and fans, and the same would be true on balls/strikes where crap like framing pitches, following angles and speeds umps can’t possibly see clearly and just incompetence no longer matter.It would instantly make the sport so much better.
Yes, and actually it was funny, sometimes the players wanted to argue but then they quickly realized there was no one to complain to and they just moved on.At the US Open tennis tournament, where they didn’t even have line judges or challenges, no one missed them and the matches just zipped along cuz there’s nothing to argue about. It was so much better for both the players and fans, and the same would be true on balls/strikes where crap like framing pitches, following angles and speeds umps can’t possibly see clearly and just incompetence no longer matter.
He was also the 2b umpire for the Dave Roberts steal. That was an extremely close play in a high pressure situation and he deserves credit for getting it right.I have him down with three good calls.
wordHe got two really big calls correct. That is what I will choose to remember.
Frankly it's absurd how much they let managers argue in the majors, especially after replays. Such a waste of time.At the US Open tennis tournament, where they didn’t even have line judges or challenges, no one missed them and the matches just zipped along cuz there’s nothing to argue about. It was so much better for both the players and fans, and the same would be true on balls/strikes where crap like framing pitches, following angles and speeds umps can’t possibly see clearly and just incompetence no longer matter.
I have him down with three good calls. One was being part of the over-ruling of Belhorn's home run originally called a double. Two was slappy. Three was fan interference against the Astros.
I loved his interview after the Astros call. When asked why he called it, he basically said "The guy jumped to catch the ball and the fan reached into the field and hit his glove, so it's spectator interference." They kept trying to ask him all this shit about whether he's seen the video or whatever and he just was like, yeah, that's what I called and that's what it was.
I know people hated him because he was so itchy to toss guys at time and gave off the vibe that he thought he was more important than the game, but I think all that's bullshit. I think he had the right temperament to make hard calls in big spots in big games, especially in the pre-video era, and truly not give a shit. I saw it, I called it.
Thanks for the Bellhorn homer and the A-Rod slap you [redacted]
View: https://youtu.be/YkXPxy_e1sIView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQyY-azd2vk
Fucking Jeter with the fist pump on this. Amazing that guy has skated free as a good sport.
I dislike Jeter as much as the next guy, but he wouldn't have seen the slap. He was worried about getting to 2nd at the momentView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQyY-azd2vk
Fucking Jeter with the fist pump on this. Amazing that guy has skated free as a good sport.
Here is the longer cutView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQyY-azd2vk
Fucking Jeter with the fist pump on this. Amazing that guy has skated free as a good sport.
Huh. Was waving at the dugout a thing back then, too?It wasn't controversial at all, but remember that he also made this call:
View: https://youtu.be/EMEylcp7E7s
He almost made a sweet kick-save!I always hear people say that every time they see the replay, they think he's going to be called out. I don't feel that way. But...
Every time I see Mueller's line drive, I think Rivera is going to stab it and turn it into a double play at 2nd.
This, 1000Xs This - and as far as I’m concerned they NEVER overturned calls, either. MLB was asking them to huddle up on close plays when an ump thought he might not have gotten a good view, but the huddles always looked like meetings to figure out how to defend the initial call, since that was what always happened.View: https://youtu.be/YkXPxy_e1sI
The amazing thing is, that joe west and his crew got both of the calls right in 2004. Four years before mlb even had an official replay review mechanism (for home runs) and TEN YEARS before the a-rod play would have been reviewable. And MLB was the last of the major US sports to even implement replay.
I just assumed he was calling time.Huh. Was waving at the dugout a thing back then, too?
I will never be convinced that there was not an unofficial use of replay on those calls. Sox Yankees, big stage, and pressure to get it right. I mean I have no recollection of umps huddling and changing any calls before or (until replay) since. Really easy to have a guy in the crowd who gets a text message and gives a signal, especially on the HR. MLB had an interest in fairness, but a game 7 of the Yankees and Sox would be such an even tI doubt they wanted it stopped by a bad call.It is remarkable that they got those calls right. I'll raise a glass to Joe West.
I had forgotten until I read post 19 in this thread.It wasn't controversial at all, but remember that he also made this call:
View: https://youtu.be/EMEylcp7E7s
Good call on Bucknor—he had that same macho act as Hernandez.Angel Hernandez sucks but CV Bucknor should be next if he’s still around. He is actually worse.
West is a loss for the league.
This happened in the first inning of the 2013 WS when they were gonna call Pedroia out on Ortiz's fielder's choice, but Kozma dropped the ball. Umpires huddled and reversed, no replay in the game that year (though I'm sure it was on the jumbotron).I will never be convinced that there was not an unofficial use of replay on those calls. Sox Yankees, big stage, and pressure to get it right. I mean I have no recollection of umps huddling and changing any calls before or (until replay) since. Really easy to have a guy in the crowd who gets a text message and gives a signal, especially on the HR. MLB had an interest in fairness, but a game 7 of the Yankees and Sox would be such an even tI doubt they wanted it stopped by a bad call.
For more than 40 years, Joe West was at the center of some of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) biggest moments. During his illustrious career he became the all-time record holder for most games umpired with 5,460 games under his belt. Now, the umpire who earned the nickname “Cowboy” will bring his unique perspective, stories and baseball insight to the Podcast Heat network with “5460: The Joe West Podcast.”
Starting on May 2, with new episodes dropping every week, “5460: The Joe West Podcast,” hosted by long-time member of the St. Louis Cardinals broadcast team Mike Claiborne, will take a look at the life and career of “Cowboy” Joe West which included umpiring three MLB All-Star Games, eight Divisional Series, 10 League Championship Series and Six World Series.
“I hope the audience will find my experiences and the people I crossed paths with over the last 44 years as interesting as I have,” said West. “I’m looking forward to sharing my stories and talking with old friends about the game we love.”
“Never have we had a chance to hear from an umpire with the experiences, games and contacts in and out of the game of baseball like we are going to have with Joe West,” said Claiborne. “This will be beyond and we can’t wait to get started with Podcast Heat.”
“When we launched Podcast Heat, our goal was to give some of the biggest personalities in sports and entertainment a platform to share their unique stories with our audience,” said Podcast Heat founder Dave Greene. “In the baseball world, there are few who have more stories than ‘Cowboy’ Joe West, and there is no one who has umpired more MLB games than him. ‘5460: The Joe West Podcast,’ is going to be a baseball fan’s dream podcast.”