Joseph Henry West (born October 31, 1952), dubbed " Cowboy Joe " or " Country Joe ", is an American professional baseball referee in Major League Baseball (MLB). Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he grew up in Greenville and played football at East Carolina University (ECU) and Elon College. West entered the National League as a referee in 1976; he joined the full-time NL staff in 1978. West has been dressed in number 22 uniform throughout his career. As a young referee, West worked as a fifth player Nolan Ryan without a hitter, was on the pitch for the 500th home run of Willie McCovey, and was involved in a 1983 push incident with manager Joe Torre.
A few years later, West was a plate-house referee during a 1988 playoff game in which Jay Howell pitcher was expelled for having a pin resin on his gloves. In 1990, he threw Dennis Cook's pitcher to the ground while trying to break the fight. The West resigned during the resignation of Major League Major 1999, but was reinstated in 2002. Since then, he has been in charge throughout MLB. In the 2004 playoffs between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, the West crew made a controversial decision requiring police presence to appease the audience. He served as head crew for the 2005 World Series, and was unveiled in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
In 2010, West attracted media attention after he publicly complained about the slowness of the game between the Red Sox and the Yankees. He also worked in that year in which Albert Pujols hit his 400 run home run. West has worked on several no-hitters, including the perfect game of 2012 by FÃÆ' à © lix HernÃÆ'ández. By 2016, he has the longest term of any MLB referee. West has appeared in six World Series, three All-Star Games, nine League Championship Series (LCS), eight League Division Series (LDS) and two Wild Card Games.
The West is the president of the World Umpires Association (WUA). As president of the organization, West helped negotiate the biggest stoppage contract in baseball history. He works with sports equipment companies to design and patent equipment supported by MLB. West is also a singer and songwriter, and has released two country music albums. She has a small acting role in the comedy film The Naked Gun: From the Police Squad File! and a cameo appearance in the television crime drama The Oldest Rookie. He plays golf on the Celebrity Players Tour.
Video Joe West (umpire)
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West was born in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1952. He grew up in Greenville, North Carolina, where he played baseball and teenage football. She graduated from Rose High School in Greenville. The West played safe on a new football team at East Carolina University (ECU) in 1970 and he was a quarterback for Elon College (now Elon University) from 1971 to 1973. He intends to play college football career at ECU, but head coach Mike McGee resigns after his first year, pushing Western transfers.
While at college, West hopes to play baseball and soccer. However, spring training for football disrupted West's ability to be on the baseball team as well. He concentrates on football and high school baseball games on the side. In three seasons at Elon, West was the starting quarterback and the team won three conference championships. He was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 1973 team who lost in the Division I of the National Association of Interreligious Athletes to Abilene Christian; Abilene's Christian team is led by future professional footballers Clint Longley and Wilbert Montgomery. West left Elon holds three notes that were undamaged for 20 years, and inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, in the same class as former North Carolina State basketball coach Kay Yow.
Maps Joe West (umpire)
Long career
Initial career
While being wary of locally as a student, West met with the Carolina League referee, Malcolm Sykes, who recommended that the West attend the referee training school. West went to the referee's school and graduated from high school. He worked in several small league circuits (West Carolinas League, Puerto Rico League, Florida Instructional League, Southern League and American Association) before he was promoted to the premier league. West made his first National League (NL) appearance in 1976 and joined the full-time NL staff in 1978.
In his first season as a full-time MLB referee, West obliged a game in which Willie McCovey hit his 500th home run career. That same year, he was in first base when Pete Rose tied NL's record for most of the matches in a row with a hit, and he was the home plate umpire when Rose broke it the next day. In 1981, West worked first base for his fifth career Nolan Ryan no-hitter. On 13 October 1981, West was 28 when he became the youngest NL referee to call the LCS. In 1983, West was suspended for three days and fined US $ 500 after a push incident with Atlanta Braves manager Joe Torre. The manager gets angry at the end of the game and follows West into the path outside the referee's dressing room. West then pushes Torre. On appeal, NL President Chub Feeney reduced West's fine to $ 300. Torre also received a fine from the incident.
Intermediate career
West made his second NLCS appearance in 1986. He presented his first All-Star Game in 1987. On September 28, 1988, West was on the field when Orel Hershiser set MLB record for successive goalsless sequence. West returned to the NLCS in 1988 and became a plate umpire when Dodgers pitcher Jay Howell was expelled for having a pin resin on his gloves.
During the 1990s on the brawling ground, the West sought to break the fight by throwing Phillies Dennis Cook pitchers to the ground. The problem was finally addressed among the West, NL President Bill White, then Commissioner Fay Vincent and the referee's union. West said White supported his actions in a fight, but White quickly issued a statement saying he has banned the West from making further physical contact with the players. White reportedly almost resigned due to lack of support from Vincent, but the NL president remained at his post after receiving support from league owners. West met more controversy the following year when outfielder Chicago Cubs Andre Dawson met him after a third strike called during a match at Wrigley Field. After Dawson was expelled from the game, he walked back into the break room and threw 14 bats into the field. Chicago fans threw the debris into the field, causing delays in the game. Dawson received a one-match suspension and a $ 1,000 fine. On his check to the league, Dawson wrote "donations for the blind."
In 1992, West made his first World Series appearance when Atlanta Braves faced Toronto Blue Jays. West was behind the throw in the first World Series game played in Canada and pulled out Braves Bobby Cox manager for throwing a helmet into the field. In 1993, he appeared in the NLCS. He worked without other instigators on April 8, 1994, when Kent Mercker closed the Los Angeles Dodgers. NLDS 1995 is the first League Division Series in the West. The following year, West worked at NLCS. He returned to the World Series in 1997, when the Cleveland Indians faced the Florida Marlins.
In 1999, West was among 22 MLB referees involved in mass resignation during labor disputes. The strategy backfired when MLB only accepted the resignation rather than enter into further negotiations with the union occupants. The union filed a lawsuit against MLB with the National Labor Relations Board, saying mass resignation was "an integrated act protected by law." After arbitration and appeals, MLB is settled with a union. Some referees received severance pay and were allowed to retire under the settlement, but the West and some other referees were rehired by MLB in 2002.
Since rehire
In the same year he returned to the field, West worked at ALDS. He also outperformed ALCS 2003 and 2004. In the sixth game of the last series, the West crew ruled Yankees dough Alex Rodriguez for a nuisance after Rodriguez appeared to hit the ball out of glove pitcher versus Bronson Arroyo on his way to first base. Fans threw debris on the field, Red Sox manager Terry Francona pulled his team from the field, and NYPD officers in the riot brought down to the field to appease the crowd. West said fans really praised the referee for the right call when they came to the field the following day. The first All-Star Game and World Series show in the world after his rehire came in 2005; that year he paired up in the second ALDS and his third World Series, serving as the head of the World Series crew.
West was the home plate referee when rookie thrower Clay Buchholz tossed without a hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on September 1, 2007, at Fenway Park; West summoned a curved shot three for the final exit. He worked his 4,000 career matches on July 30, 2009, at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he brought out Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman from the contest. In the same year he appeared in the American League Series and World Series. He was also elected president of the World Umpires Association (WUA). Western governing councils and unions negotiated the largest contract termination in MLB history. The contract runs from 2010 to 2014. West designs a commercially-sold chest protector as West Vest, now marketed by Wilson Sporting Goods. He holds patents in Western Vest in the US, Australia, Canada and Japan. He also designed the high-end pedestal equipment from Wilson, the only stopper equipment supported by MLB.
In 2010, the West sparked controversy by criticizing the slow pace of the recently completed series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, which he called "pathetic and embarrassing." Red Sox manager Terry Francona referred to the statement as "problematic", while the Yankees closer Mariano Rivera commented, "If he has a place to go, let him do something else." Columnist Wallace Matthews defends the West, saying the referee only reveals what people have been thinking for a long time. West was not fined by MLB for his comments, but was "reprimanded," according to press reports. On May 26, 2010, the West made two controversial calls to Mark Buehrle and consequently issued White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen for arguing and Buehrle for throwing his gloves. On 26 August 2010, West was the referee's plat for Albert Pujols's 400th career home run.
On September 14, 2014, West released Jonathan Papelbon for a lewd act of adjusting his crotch, resulting in a confrontation in which West grabbed the Papelbon jersey. MLB then suspended Papelbon for seven games for his lewd and western acts for a match to start contact with Papelbon, marking the first suspension of suspension since Fieldin Culbreth's suspension in May 2013 due to an improper implementation of baseball rules and the first infringement on the field of referee offenses since Bob Davidson's May 2012 suspension handling violation situations related to the release of Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel. West then claimed Papelbon had started the first contact, but Major League Baseball determined that the re-plays of the videos showed the West was incorrect, and that the contact was initiated by the West.
West inherited the second NLDS (and fifth LDS) in 2011. The following year West was the first base referee for the perfect match of FÃÆ' à © lix HernÃÆ'ández on 15 August against Tampa Bay Rays. He surpassed the other NLDS that year, then appeared in the fifth World Series. His career has spanned the days of Bowie Kuhn's baseball commissioner, Peter Ueberroth, Bart Giamatti, Fay Vincent, Bud Selig and Rob Manfred. The 2015 season is the 38th season in MLB West, making it a senior MLB referee. Umpire Bruce Froemming, formerly the most senior referee, spent 37 seasons in MLB, retired at the end of the 2007 season.
West outclassed the Major League 5,000 game on 20 June 2017. He is the third referee in MLB history to reach the target. On 9 August 2017, West was suspended for three games after making inappropriate comments against Adrian Beltre.
Reception
The West has been mentioned in several MLB players polls. In 2006, spring after he became head of crew in the World Series, the Sports Illustrated survey requested 470 MLB players to identify the best and worst referees. West was identified as the best MLB referee by 2 percent of the players, ranking him ninth on that list. With respect to the worst referees, 6 percent of players in the survey chose the West. Only three referees are more often mentioned as the worst referees in the survey. A 2007 review of the referee's strike zone by The Hardball Times determined that West was the most consistent referee in the major leagues.
In a 2010 poll of 100 players, West ranked as the second worst referee in the league. In the 2011 players poll, West was named the finest MLB referee by 5 percent of the surveyed players, placing him fifth. However, he called the worst referee in the same poll by 41 percent of the players surveyed.
Outside baseball
The West is known outside of umpiring as a singer-songwriter. His involvement in country music and his attitude on the field earned him the nickname "Cowboy Joe." West has described his music as "two chords and truths.... It's simple, it tells a story." In 2009, the West said about his music search, "I'm lucky, you know, the dues you have to pay to come here because the referee is long and boring but the music business, as I've been in the major leagues, which I normally can not open. "
West has appeared in Grand Ole Opry . He has performed with Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Merle Haggard. West serves as a marker for Boxcar Willie.
West released their first album, Blue Cowboy, in 1987. Blue Cowboy is an album of three original songs and five covers. Chuck Yarborough of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said, "Listening to his first" Cowboy Biru "quote made me refuse - you'll forgive that phrase - while listening to the second." And the third. Etc. And now? Well, if I'm Nashville, I'm running West from the game. The Hook. Heave-Ho. The Thumb. "In a September 2012 review, the Long After Dark music blog said," Cowboy Biru was easily ranked with Ron Artest and Carl Lewis as one of the worst albums ever cut by the sportsman... ever. said that I managed to make it through the recording, even though it was not easy. â ⬠<â ⬠<"
He released Diamond Dreams in 2008. The album collaborated with Kent Goodson, pianist for country star George Jones. It tells a baseball story inspired by a Western referee's career. Goodson then said, "When I look back on how this CD joins, I realize I'm a musician and Joe is a referee, but his passion for music and my love of baseball tied us in on this project." Sports blogger Voodoo Brown described West as "in the creepmode of the gate." Sportswriter Doug Miller says that the album is "a collection of fun, funny and often touching gems where the listener gets the perfect example of the real personality of Cowboy Joe West."
West has made a film appearance, playing the third base referee in the 1988 comedy film The Naked Gun: From the Police Squad File! He also made a cameo appearance in the television crime drama The Oldest Rookie, Golfing golfer, West appeared on the Celebrity Players Tour.
See also
- Major League Baseball Referee List
References
External links
- Official website
- Joe West on IMDb
- The Baseball Cube
- Retrosheet
- Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Profile
Source of the article : Wikipedia