Dates in the career of record-setting umpire Joe West

During a 42-season Major League career, umpire Joe West has taken a lot of heat from fans, players and managers alike. But as of Tuesday, you have to give West credit for one thing; He shows up for work.

When he took his position behind home plate at Guaranteed Rate Field for the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, West logged his 5,376th appearance making calls. That breaks the all-time record previously held by legendary umpire Bill Klem.

The career of Joe West

Here are some significant dates, facts, and figures in the life and career of West, who was born in Asheville, NC on Oct. 31, 1952.

First pro umpiring gig: The Western Carolina League hired the 21 year-old West as an umpire for the 1974 season. He was re-hired for 1975, then released in order to allow him to accept an assignment in a higher minor league.

First Major League game: On Sept. 14, 1976, a 23-year-old West was called up to work a game between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium. He made calls at third base as part of a crew that also included Paul Pryor, John McSherry, and Art Williams. Coincidentally, the game also marked the debut of the Astros starter, Dave Lemongello.

First game behind home plate: Two days later, on Sept. 16, 1976, West rotated behind home plate where he called balls and strikes for a game between the same two teams. His base umpires were Tom Gorman, Pryor, and McSherry. West had a challenging assignment since Atlanta’s starter that day was knuckleballer Phil Niekro. He beat Joaquin Andujar and the Astros 5-3.

First ejection: In the seventh inning of a Sept. 8, 1977 game, the Phillies led the Mets 7-2 on their way to an 8-2 win. By then some of the Mets had had enough. When West called a strike on a frustrated Steve Henderson, the Mets outfielder argued vociferously and was tossed. Mets manager Joe Torre came out to defend his player and West ran him as well.

First post-season series: On Oct. 13, 1981, West was assigned to umpire the right field line in the first game of the National League Championship Series between the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Dodgers. His fellow crew members were Harry Wendelstedt, Paul Pryor, Eric Gregg, Paul Runge, and Dutch Rennert.

The sumo match: On April 17, 1985, West was working third base during a game between the Cubs and Phillies at Wrigley Field. At a critical moment, Cubs outfielder Keith Moreland launched a bases-clearing double and then tried to stretch it into a triple.

Zimmer claimed afterward that as he positioned himself to direct Moreland into the base, West grabbed the coach by the back of his uniform collar, and jerked him aside, calling Moreland out in the process. When Zimmer protested the umpire’s aggression, he was ejected. “What does he think I am, a sumo wrestler,” a fuming Zimmer later asked reporters.

First post-season plate: West did not get another post-season umpiring assignment for five years.  In 1986, he joined the crew working the NLCS between the New York Mets and Houston Astros. In Game 5 of that series, on Oct. 14, he was behind the plate as Dwight Gooden out-pitched Nolan Ryan in a 2-1 Mets victory. The game featured a total of 21 strikeouts.

First World Series game: West was assigned to the 1992 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves. He worked third base on Oct. 17 when Atlanta’s Tom Glavine beat Toronto’s Jack Morris 3-1. Other members of that crew were Jerry Crawford, Mike Reilly, Dan Morrison, Bob Davidson, and John Shulock.

First World Series plate appearance: West was behind the plate for Game 3 of that series when the Jays beat the Braves 3-2 at the SkyDome. Steve Avery, Juan Guzman and four relievers combined to strike out 18.

The unwanted years: Following a failed umpire’s strike, West was among several veteran umpires not re-hired for the 2000 season. He did not work again until 2002.

No. 22: Despite having worked more games than any umpire in history, West ranks only 22nd all time for games behind home plate. That’s because prior to about 1950, umpiring crews consisted of only two or three men, giving umpires of that era more plate assignments. West worked his 1,220th plate Tuesday night. The leader is Bill Klem, the man with whom West had been tied until Tuesday, with 3,544.

In fairness to West, it should be noted that of the 21 men ahead of him in that category, only one umpired since 1960. That was Bruce Froemming.

You’re outta here: Although records on ejections vary depending on the source, the most reliable of them place West ranks fourth all-time in ejections with 192.  Klem ejected 346 during his career, while two other early day umps, Cy Rigler and Hank O’Day, ejected 271 and 233 respectively.

Three men share the record for most ejections by Joe West. Bobby Cox, Ron Gardenhire, and Chuck Tanner all were tossed four times by him.

West ejected eight other managers three times. Those eight are Charlie Manuel, Davey Johnson, Don Zimmer, Jim Leyland, Joe Maddon, Joe Torre, Ozzie Guillen, and Tony La Russa.

The West-Cox feud: On Oct. 2, 1981, West ejected Cox from a Braves game with the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium when Cox disputed a check swing call. Nearly 27 years later, on Aug. 13, 2008, West ordered the lights to be turned on during the fifth inning of a game between the Cubs and Braves at Turner Field. Cox, who had just made a pitching change, objected to the delay West’s decision created for his newly warmed pitcher and was ejected again. The nearly 27-year stretch is the longest time between two ejections of the same person in West’s career.