page_title: Joe West (umpire)
section_title: Since rehire
hierarchical_section_title: Joe West (umpire) / Umpiring career / Since rehire
caption_attribution_description: English: Professional baseball umpires Joe West (center) and Gabe Morales (left) meet with Chicago White Sox coaches before a game at Minute Maid Park in May 2015.
context_page_description: Joseph Henry West, nicknamed "Cowboy Joe" or "Country Joe", is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he grew up in Greenville and played football at East Carolina University and Elon College. West entered the National League as an umpire in 1976; he joined the NL staff full-time in 1978. West has worn uniform number 22 throughout his career. As a young umpire, West worked Nolan Ryan's fifth career no-hitter, was on the field for Willie McCovey's 500th home run, and was involved in a 1983 pushing incident with manager Joe Torre.
  A few years later, West was the home plate umpire during the 1988 playoff game in which pitcher Jay Howell was ejected for having pine tar on his glove. In 1990, he threw pitcher Dennis Cook to the ground while attempting to break up a fight. West resigned during the 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation, but was rehired in 2002. Since then, he has umpired throughout MLB. In a 2004 playoff game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, West's crew made a controversial decision that necessitated police presence to calm the crowd.
context_section_description: In the same year he returned to the field, West worked in the ALDS. He also umpired in the 2003 and 2004 ALCS. In game six of the latter series, West's crew ruled Yankees batter Alex Rodriguez out for interference after Rodriguez appeared to swat the ball out of the glove of opposing pitcher Bronson Arroyo on his way to first base. Fans threw debris on the field, Red Sox manager Terry Francona pulled his team off the field, and NYPD officers in riot gear took to the field to calm the crowd. West said fans actually applauded the umpires for the correct call when they came onto the field the following day. West’s first All-Star Game and World Series appearances after his rehire came in 2005; that year he umpired in his second ALDS and his third World Series, serving as World Series crew chief.
  West was the home plate umpire when rookie pitcher Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on September 1, 2007, at Fenway Park; West called a curveball strike three for the final out. He worked his 4,000th career game on July 30, 2009, at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he ejected Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman from the contest. That same year he appeared in the American League Division Series and the World Series. He was also elected president of the World Umpires Association (WUA). West and the union's governing board negotiated the largest umpiring contract in the history of MLB. The contract ran from 2010 through the 2014 season. West designed the chest protector sold commercially as the West Vest, now marketed by Wilson Sporting Goods. He holds patents on the West Vest in the US, Australia, Canada and Japan. He also designed Wilson's high-end umpiring gear, the only umpiring equipment endorsed by MLB.
  In 2010, West sparked controversy by criticizing the slow pace of the recently completed series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, which he called "pathetic and embarrassing". Red Sox manager Terry Francona referred to the remarks as "troubling", while Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remarked, "If he has places to go, let him do something else." Columnist Wallace Matthews defended West, saying the umpire was simply expressing what people had been thinking for a long time. West was not fined by MLB for his comments, but was "admonished firmly," according to press reports. On May 26, 2010, West made two controversial balk calls on Mark Buehrle and consequently ejected White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen for arguing and Buehrle for throwing his glove.  On August 26, 2010, West was the plate umpire for Albert Pujols’ 400th career home run.
  On September 14, 2014, West ejected Jonathan Papelbon for the lewd act of adjusting his groin, resulting in a confrontation where West grabbed Papelbon's jersey. MLB subsequently suspended Papelbon for seven games for his lewd act and West for one game for initiating contact with Papelbon, marking the first umpire suspension since Fieldin Culbreth's May 2013 suspension for misapplication of baseball rules and the first on-field misconduct suspension of an umpire since Bob Davidson's May 2012 suspension for situation handling violations related to his ejection of Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel. West later claimed Papelbon had initiated first contact, but Major League Baseball determined that the video replay showed West was not correct, and that the contact was initiated by West.
  West umpired in his second NLDS (and fifth LDS) in 2011. The next year West was the first base umpire for Félix Hernández's August 15 perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He umpired another NLDS that year, then appeared in his fifth World Series. His career has spanned the tenure of baseball commissioners Bowie Kuhn, Peter Ueberroth, Bart Giamatti, Fay Vincent, Bud Selig and Rob Manfred. The 2015 season was West's 38th in MLB, making him MLB's most senior umpire. Umpire Bruce Froemming, who was previously the most senior umpire, spent 37 seasons in MLB, retiring at the end of the 2007 season.
  On August 9, 2017, West was suspended for three games after making inappropriate c
caption: West (center) before a May 2015 game
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