Veteran Major League umpire Joe West has called it a career.
The league’s communications team made the news official in a press release this morning, which also included four other retirements and their respective replacements.
West, 69, originally debuted in Major League Baseball on September 14, 1976, and started serving full-time for the National League in 1978. He quickly rose through the ranks and became the youngest umpire to call a League Championship Series with his appearance in the 1981 NLCS. It would be just one of the many notable accomplishments over his record 43-year career.
Of course, “Cowboy Joe” was no stranger to bad calls and controversy. In fact, it turned out to be his bread and butter as we all know too well. One of the most infamous incidents, at least for Sox fans, came in May 2010 when he ended up ejecting then-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle for a pair of “balks.” It also led to an iconic rant from broadcaster Hawk Harrelson, which can be seen in all of its glory below.
Over the years, Hawk and Joe ended up making amends and strangely enough became friends. Phil Rosenthal covered the story in excellent fashion over at the Chicago Tribune, and Chuck Garfien provided proof of the two getting along.
West enters his retirement with an all-time record 5,460 Major League games umpired. He broke the long-standing mark of Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem back on May 25, 2021, in a game between the Cardinals and White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Upon achieving this feat, White Sox manager Tony La Russa called him “the perfect guy to set the record because he represents what a lot of umpires should be.”
Whether you love him or hate him, West was a staple of the game and it will certainly be odd not to see him moving forward. This isn’t to say that we’ll miss his calls, not that he’d make them in the first place.
Best of luck in your retirement, Joe!
Featured Photo: Chuck Garfien/Twitter
Good riddance to a bad umpire.