A Message to All Professional Sports Officials: People Do Not Pay to See You!

In the middle of April, after another long, yet entertaining set of Yankees-Red Sox games, Major League umpire/president of the umpire's union/country music singer/entrepreneur decided to go on the record as complaining about the length of the Red Sox versus Yankees games. After the opening series that included a ten inning game that lasted only three hours and twenty-one minutes, West had this to say, "They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace. They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest? It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play." Hey Joe, it isn't your job to comment on how long a game takes. And if anything is embarrassing, it is your weak attempt to get publicity so you can sell your new line of umpire's gear, or your new country CD. Your job is to call balls and strikes. Nobody cares if your dinner date at Burger King is delayed by a few hours because of your job! No baseball fan, who most likely works at least eight hours per day, wants to hear an umpire complaining about having to work four or five hours compared to his normal day's work of two to three hours. One would think that Major League Baseball would have talked to and even punished West for those comments, and maybe they did, but apparently whatever happened did not faze "The Cowboy" because now, a little over a month later, in the final week of May, West has struck again. This time, West decided to pick on the other Sox, and more specifically, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle, who by the way is known for his quick pace when on the mound. Mark Buehrle has been on the mound for some of the quickest games in baseball, year in and year out, so you would think Mr. West would love him. West could get a day's work in and he can devour a king sized extra value meal all in three hours when Buehrle is on the mound. So, why then would he decide to pick on him? It's simple. He has a new country CD out and a new line of umpire's gear that just won't sell itself.

Mark Buehrle, known for his impeccable control and fast pace while pitching, is one of the most respected pitchers in the game. Another trait of Buehrle is his incredible pickoff move; one that is only rivaled by the likes of Andy Pettitte. Through his first eleven seasons in the Major Leagues, Buehrle has accumulated seventy-four pickoffs and only twelve balks (5 of which came in one season). Other than the 2001 season (Buehrle's second in the Major Leagues), Mark Buehrle has never had more than two balks in any single year. Then came Wednesday's game, when umpire Joe West decided to call not one, but two balks on the White Sox pitcher, causing Buehrle to throw his glove on the ground in disgust after the second one, and resulting in his ejection. The Cowboy didn't stop there, as he also threw his lasso around manager Ozzie Guillen, when he came out to protect his pitcher. The colorful Guillen had this to say, following the game: "Sometimes he thinks [expletive] people pay to watch him [expletive] umpire. He's the type of guy that wants to control the game. ... I deserve respect and the players here deserve respect here, too. When you tell the manager to get the [expletive] off the field, I don't think that's a good way to handle situations." I couldn't have said it better myself. Well, maybe I could have deleted the expletives, but either way, Guillen makes a great point. One that many professional sports officials seem to forget. Nobody wants to see an umpire decide a game. Their job is to make sure the game is played the right way, and to make the calls, when necessary; not to go out of your way to make a ridiculous balk call against a pitcher who never balks. The best officials are those that are seen and not heard. Much like a third base coach in baseball, if there is a lot of talk about him, it is most likely negative.

Joe West claims to have done all he could do to avoid confrontation. This may have been believable if this was the first time his name showed up on the highlights or in the newspaper, but the following comments seem a bit unbelievable because of his past offenses: "I did turn my back. I walked into right field. I didn't do anything confrontational. I called a balk because it was a balk, and I can't do anything more than that." Really, Joe? So did Sportscenter put your face on another overweight umpire from another time and place you in the highlight as being face to face with Guillen, after you ejected both he and Buehrle? Give me a break. You have never avoided confrontation, especially since you have begun trying to become an entrepreneur.

Another strange twist to the Joe West story is that he has a publicist. In what world does an umpire need a publicist? Secondly, last week that publicist sent an email to all media members revealing his schedule and claiming that he would be willing to revisit his Red Sox/Yankees comments from April. Many may wonder what the big deal is, but they would be remiss to push this aside as nothing. Talking about anything to media outlets, especially when it involves the Red Sox and/or the Yankees, is bound to get you on the front page of every sports section around the country, while also guaranteeing your face and comments on Sportscenter. West clearly follows the old adage that says no publicity is bad publicity, but in this case he is wrong. America is sick of seeing officials in the media. After the gambling fiasco of NBA referee Tim Donaghy (who is now in the process of writing a book about it), fans don't want to see any more officials in the papers or on television. They want to believe that their favorite sports' teams are being officiated fairly, without any ulterior motives. Donaghy could have been cast aside as a bad egg in a whole carton of good ones, but now Joe West, who represents all Major League umpires as their president, seems to be making waves for his personal gain, and is making it very difficult for this fan to truly believe that Major League Baseball games are being officiated fairly. If you want to be respected, Mr. West, shut your mouth and do your job correctly. Unfortunately, respect and fairness doesn't seem to be what this Cowboy is all about.

Sources used for stats and quotes:
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Baseball Reference
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ESPN