Longtime ump Joe West to call 5,000th game Tuesday
Like him or not, Joe West has been umpiring Major League Baseball games for longer than any other active arbiter in the game. Now, he's about to enter the pantheon of his profession.
"Cowboy Joe" will become just the third umpire in history to call 5,000 games when he works Tuesday night's Rockies-Diamondbacks contest at Coors Field. He'll join Bill Klem - the first umpire to be inducted into the Hall of Fame - and Bruce Froemming as the only members of this exclusive club.
| Umpire | Years | Games (as of 6/19/2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Klem* | 1905-41 | 5375 |
| Bruce Froemming | 1971-2007 | 5163 |
| Joe West | 1976-99; 2002- | 4999 |
| Tommy Connolly* | 1898-1932 | 4769 |
| Doug Harvey* | 1962-92 | 4673 |
* indicates Hall of Fame umpire
(Umpire information courtesy: Retrosheet)
The 64-year-old West is currently in his 40th major-league season - the longest career by an umpire in history - having debuted as a National League ump in 1976. He joined the Senior Circuit roster full time two years later. Though he lost his job in the infamous mass umpire resignation of 1999, West was rehired by MLB in 2002 and is now president of the World Umpires Association.
West has called the second-most postseason games of any umpire (123), and is the active leader in World Series games called, according to his MLB biography. He's worked under the auspices of six different commissioners, and called games alongside two of the 10 umpires enshrined in Cooperstown.
West's career has not come without its bumps. He's made a number of controversial calls over the years, including during Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. In 2014, he was suspended one game for intentionally bumping Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jonathan Papelbon. The part-time country music singer has also been accused of making himself the center of attention during games, while drawing intense criticism from players old and new.
Still, West - to the obvious dismay of some - has no plans to end his potential Hall of Fame career any time soon. He's already got an eye on passing Klem's all-time record for games umpired, something he's currently on pace to do by 2020.
"If my knees hold up, I'd like to do that," West told Paul Hagen of MLB.com in a recent interview. "I thought (Froemming) would pass Klem, but he didn't stick it out. At the time, that (record) looked like an insurmountable thing. It's a big monster. ...
"Yeah, that would be quite an accomplishment."