After missing a crucial call in what might’ve been his last game at Fenway Park, Joe West is expected to retire at the end of the MLB season.
Well, Joe West, it’s been fun. Okay, maybe not always fun, but it’s been… entertaining. One day after West made a questionable call that might’ve botched the Boston Red Sox’s shot at hosting the AL Wild Card game, it was announced that Joe reportedly plans to retire at the end of the season.
The MLB won’t be the same without him, but that might be a good thing. We’ll miss the drama.
MLB umpire Joe West reportedly retiring at the end of the MLB season after potentially ruining the Boston Red Sox’s season
West has been an MLB umpire since 1976 and baseball fans are still trying to figure out exactly where his strike zone is at in 2021. Some things never change.
Red Sox fans probably wish that Joe would’ve retired before yesterday’s game against the New York Yankees, where they lost 6-3.
The Yankees were down 3-2 with one out whenever Aaron Judge went up to bat in the top of the eighth inning. With two strikes against him, Judge tipped a pitch that went right into Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez’s glove. The ball slipped out of his glove, but only after he tried to move the ball to his hand. West called it a foul ball and instead of striking out, Judge went on to hit a two-run double. Brutal.
Boston now sits one-game back from New York in the AL Wild Card standings and is only one-game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.
If the Red Sox don’t make it to the postseason, the call may sit at the top of some of West’s worst. That’s saying something.