As if there weren’t enough storylines entering the 2016 World Series, it looks like Joe West is going to be involved.
No matter what happens between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, someone’s going to erase a lengthy title drought. Cleveland is looking for its first World Series title since 1948, while the Cubs haven’t won baseball’s biggest prize sine 1908. Before that’s settled, though, it’s a pretty good bet that West somehow will involve himself in the fun.
West is considered one of baseball’s best umpires, which has made him a crew chief and allowed him to umpire some of the biggest games and series over the course of his career. That will also include this World Series, Major League Baseball revealed Monday. But we’ve also seen on multiple occasions that West can be, well, a bit of a dink.
“Cowboy” is famous (or should we say infamous?) for some of his on-field dust-ups with players, coaches and managers alike. To say he has a way of making things about himself might be a slight understatement. So now you put him on the biggest stage baseball has to offer, and you can’t help but worry what might be on the way.
Naturally, West has a history with the two managers in this series. Multiple times throughout their careers, Cleveland’s Terry Francona and Chicago’s Joe Maddon have run across West and left with slightly higher blood pressures than when the argument started.
Just last month, of course, West and Maddon had it out during a game in St. Louis. Maddon tried to stall after Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks lost his no-hitter and shutout in the ninth inning.
West had none of it, which ticked off Maddon, who came out to state his case before ultimately getting the old heave-ho.
There was also this sarcastic little exchange early in the 2015 season when Maddon requested West to check with the first-base umpire on a check swing, finally getting his wish.
Francona also had a recent spat with West. Again, go back just one month, and you’ll find this quarrel over a check swing call that eventually ended with West ejecting Francona.
Relatively civil, if we’re being honest. The same couldn’t be said for Francona and West back in 2011. While it wasn’t West who sent Francona to the showers, the big fella in blue did all he could to try and corral Francona in an argument over a balk call.
Francona’s original reason for being irate stemmed from Angel Hernandez’s balk call, but Francona ripped West after that 2011 game.
“Joe, as we all know, always wants to be in everybody’s business,” Francona said at the time. “That was me and Angel. Joe didn’t have anything to do with it. Didn’t appreciate what he did. I think he was wrong.”
Francona added that he thought West’s physical contact was “out of line,” too.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports Images
