There are several big-league umpires who baseball fans dread seeing on the schedule to work their games. Obviously, Angel Hernandez is at the top of that list, but Joe West isn’t too far behind.
Even when West makes the right call, he does it in a way that enrages baseball fans. It had Phillies broadcaster John Kruk throwing a tantrum on the air.
West was the first base umpire for Game 2 of the Phillies’ doubleheader with the Nationals on Tuesday when he made a controversial interpretation of MLB rules to cost Philadelphia a stolen base in the eighth inning (extra innings in this seven-inning format).
According to West, the Phillies’ Alec Bohm made contact with Kurt Suzuki’s leg on his backswing, which negated Roman Quinn’s attempt at stealing third.
Tell us how you really feel, Kruk. pic.twitter.com/PiP9HO3njz
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 23, 2020
Neither Quinn nor Bohm were called out, which could have been the case in an interference scenario. West applied MLB Rule 6.06(c) to this situation, calling a strike on Bohm and forcing Quinn to return to second. Here’s the rule:
If a batter strikes at a ball and misses and swings so hard he carries the bat all the way around and, in the umpire’s judgment, unintentionally hits the catcher or the ball in back of him on the backswing, it shall be called a strike only (not interference). The ball will be dead, however, and no runner shall advance on the play.
So, technically, this was the correct call. But the spirit of the rule applies to contact that affects the catcher. At most, Bohm tapped Suzuki’s knee pad and didn’t impeded with the throw. West also made this call from first base instead of leaving it to Vic Carapazza who was two feet away.
Kruk’s outrage was probably misplaced if you’re going by the rules, but West’s application of that rule from 90-plus feet away certainly warranted some frustration.
Bohm would later walk in the at-bat, but the Phillies would strand the bases loaded and lose, 8-7.
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