PHILADELPHIA, PA – JUNE 10: Umpire Joe West #22 looks on during the game between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 10, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Braves 4-3. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
MLB Twitter was outraged at a blown call by umpire Joe West during Monday night’s matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
Joe West has umpired more MLB games than anyone else in history, but he still makes silly mistakes. On Monday night, he called foul on what was clearly a fair ball. See for yourself.
Of course, MLB Twitter and Phillies fans in particular were upset at the botched call. Some were quick to suggest that the 68-year-old West is no longer fit to umpire in the Majors.
It’s an embarrassing call given the chalk was kicked up by the ball.
MLB Twitter frustrated with Joe West’s latest blown call
It’s far from the first time baseball fans have disagreed with an umpire, and West himself has been involved in a number of controversial calls over the years. He was called out by New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard for a bad call as recently as yesterday. Some MLB fans have simply had enough of “Cowboy Joe”.
With the Phillies leading 4-2 at the top of the seventh, who knows what impact West’s blown call will have on this game? But at the end of the day, umpires who can’t move fast enough or see the foul lines properly anymore probably shouldn’t be on MLB payroll. MLB Twitter may have a point: it’s time to stop making excuses for poor decisions made by Joe West.