While no-hitters are being thrown over home plate, six so far this year to be exact, 68-year-old Major League umpire Joe West broke and established a new record of his own on May 25, 2021, when he umpired his 5,376th regular-season game behind home plate, snapping a tie with Hall of Fame MLB umpire Bill Klem, who has held that prestigious honor since 1941.

West’s record-breaking game occurred when the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-3 on Tuesday evening, May 18, 2021, at Guaranteed Rate Field (a private residential mortgage company located in Chicago, in case you were wondering). He made his major league umpiring debut on September 14, 1976.

West is perhaps best known for his run-ins with players, managers, and at least one baseball executive over the years. That now-infamous ejection was during an uncertain 2020 baseball season when he ejected Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo from an upstairs suite in Atlanta for yelling and complaining.

But unlike many major league umpires, not everyone hates Joe West. No, 76-year-old White Sox manager and Hall of Famer Tony La Russa is a West fan due to his consistency behind the plate; although there are many fans, players, and managers who would argue this point.

“It’s richly deserved, earned, to hold the record,” said La Russa. “I mean, you have Joe calling the game, bases, but especially behind the plate, you’re going to get an outstanding major league job.”

The famed San Diego chicken once showed fandom by giving West some fake flowers before the top of the sixth inning got underway. West also had some crowd supporters, including country music singer Emmylou Harris and former NBA center Mark Eaton.

“It was tough to hold back a tear or two, but Tom Hanks said there is no crying in baseball, so you can’t do it,” West said, referring to Hanks’ iconic line in the movie “A League of Their Own.”

The end of West’s umpiring days are not entirely over, or at least West hasn’t decided they are yet. He told members of the media that he would decide whether or not he would keep working as an umpire at the end of the season.

If and when West does decide to retire, it will be celebrated by many long-time baseball fans, who most likely will remember him from his 193 ejections (and counting) over the years. Perhaps when he does decide to retire, he will be able to focus on his other passion – country songwriting and singing – and you will be able to purchase an album by “Cowboy Joe,” as he is affectionately and famously known.

Enjoy Cooperstown, Cowboy Joe.

Play Ball!

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