(KMOX) - Some say umpires are at their best when they go unnoticed during the course of a baseball game. That hasn't been the M.O. of "Cowboy" Joe West in recent years.
He'll be calling balls and strikes in the NL Wild Card game between the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers and red-hot St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night. In typical West fashion, he announced it himself, which is not typical umpire protocol.
"We're not suppose to say, but I am," West said when asked if he'll be behind the plate.
It was followed by groans from baseball fans on social media, but it may be to the delight of Cardinals fans. As Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright has had a pretty successful career with West.
According to SBNation writer Blake Harris, Waino has a 1.27 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 3.17 SO/BB rate with West behind the the plate. Although that's better than small sample size of 21.1 IP, it's well below his career average of 3.35 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 3.13.
On the flip side, Dodgers starting pitcher Max Scherzer has also been pretty dominant with West. He owns a 2.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 3.35 SO/BB rate in 56.2 innings.
West turned 69 this month and is planning to retire at the end of this season. There's a chance Wednesday night could be his final game, if he isn't assigned to any more postseason games.
West called his first big league game in 1976 and broke Bill Klem’s record for most games umpired when he worked his 5,376th regular-season game last May. Known as “Cowboy Joe” and “Country Joe,” the former Elon College quarterback has worked the World Series six times.
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