Joe West
Longtime MLB umpire who worked a record 5,460 regular-season games from 1976 to 2021.
- Entries
- 9
- On the record
- 3
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Sep 29, 2026
The record
Joe West umpired his first major league game on September 14, 1976, in Atlanta, and his last on October 6, 2021, at the National League wild-card game at Dodger Stadium. On May 25, 2021, he worked his 5,376th regular-season game, passing Bill Klem's record from a career that ran from 1905 to 1941. He retired with a league-record 5,460 regular-season games over 45 seasons, ESPN reported when MLB announced the retirements in February 2022.
His record also includes discipline and a lawsuit he won. In August 2017 he served a three-game suspension after telling USA Today that Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre was the league's biggest complainer; the umpires' union said MLB's letter cited an appearance of lack of impartiality. In April 2021 a New York Supreme Court justice awarded him $500,000 plus interest in his defamation case against former catcher Paul Lo Duca.
Lo Duca had claimed on a podcast that reliever Billy Wagner paid West off with a 1957 Chevrolet to widen the strike zone; West's suit said Lo Duca was ejected once by him, not eight or nine times. Announcing his retirement in October 2021, West, then 68, estimated he had ejected about 190 players, managers and coaches, and Commissioner Rob Manfred praised the skill and passion he brought to umpiring.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Filed
West and four retired umpires sued the umpires' retirement plan and its committee in New York federal court, per the AP. Joe West, 4 umpires sue MLB pension plan over $2M+ in benefits
- Reported
West was awarded $500,000 in damages in a defamation suit against Paul LoDuca, per the AP. Joe West, 4 umpires sue MLB pension plan over $2M+ in benefits
Stories in this file
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The record, entry by entry
- 1976-09-14 Reported West worked his first big-league game, in Atlanta, ESPN reported. ESPN report
- 2017-08 Ruled MLB suspended West for three games over comments in a June USA Today report naming Adrian Beltre as the league's biggest complainer; the umpires' union said MLB's letter cited an appearance of lack of impartiality. Associated Press report via ESPN
- 2021-04 Ruled Justice John J. Kelley of New York Supreme Court awarded West $500,000 plus interest against Paul Lo Duca, split between emotional distress and reputation repair, over Lo Duca's podcast claim that Billy Wagner paid West with a 1957 Chevrolet. CBS Sports report
- 2021-05-25 Reported West set the record for regular-season games umpired, passing Bill Klem, with game No. 5,376. ESPN report
- 2021-10-04 Reported West told MLB he would retire after the postseason, saying breaking the record had been the goal; he estimated he had ejected about 190 players, managers or coaches. ESPN report
- 2021-10-06 Reported He umpired his final game, the National League wild-card game at Dodger Stadium. ESPN report
- 2022-02-04 Official MLB's umpire retirements were announced, with West finishing at a league-record 5,460 regular-season games over 45 seasons. ESPN report